''Exorista larvarum'' is a

Palaearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of fly in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true fly, flies within the insect order Fly, Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in t ...

Hosts

Lepidoptera

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e, mainly

Lymantriidae The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The cat ...

and

Lasiocampidae The Lasiocampidae are a family of moths also known as eggars, tent caterpillars, snout moths (although this also refers to the Pyralidae), or lappet moths. Over 2,000 species occur worldwide, and probably not all have been named or studied. It i ...

. It attacks ''

Lymantria dispar dispar ''Lymantria dispar dispar'' or LDD moth, commonly known as the gypsy moth, European gypsy moth, North American gypsy moth, or spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae that is of Eurasian origin. It has a range that extends over E ...

''.The Gypsy Moth: Research Toward Integrated Pest Management, United States Department of Agriculture, 1981 Studies have been conducted into its ability to successfully prey on ''

Mythimna unipuncta ''Mythimna unipuncta'', the true armyworm moth, white-speck moth, common armyworm or rice armyworm, is a nocturnal agricultural pest belonging to the family Noctuidae. This moth is also commonly referred to by the scientific name ''Pseudaletia ...

'' and '' Cydalima perspectalis''.

Parasitic nature

It lays an egg on its host. The egg hatches and the larva penetrates the host. The host could escape this fate by molting before the egg hatches.

Artificial Diets

For rearing ''Exorista larvarum'' in controlled conditions, inexpensive diets are preferable. MEYS contains liquid skimmed milk, chicken egg yolk, yeast extract and saccharose and HEYS contains veal homogenate, chicken egg yolk, yeast extract and saccharose.Chiappini, Elisabetta; Dindo, Maria Luisa; Negri, Ilaria; Sighinolfi, Luca. "In vitro rearing of Anagrus breviphragma (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), an egg parasitoid of Cicadella viridis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), from second instar larva to adult on diets without insect components." European Journal of Entomology. Institute of Entomology Czech Academy of Sciences. 2004. Retrieved September 26, 2012 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-833056621.html Subscription required. Though many variations of the diet yield different results.MELLINI E. & CAMPADELLI G. 1995: Formulas for "inexpensive" artificial diets for the parasitoid Exorista larvarum (L.). Boll. Ist. Entomol. "Guida Grandi" Univ. Bologna 50: 95-106.http://www.bulletinofinsectology.org/pdfarticles/vol50-1996-095-106mellini.pdf Larvae have a tendency to wander, which can result in starvation, reducing wander is important for maximizing yields.

References

Exoristinae Diptera of Europe Flies described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Exoristinae-stub