''Trigonospila brevifacies'' is a species of

true fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

in the family

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order 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 this family ...

native to eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. This species is also found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Like the vast majority of tachinid flies, ''T. brevifacies'' is a

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

of other

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, specifically late larval stages of a number of species of

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

. It is also known as the Australian Leaf-Roller Fly or Leafroller Fly.

Distribution

''Trigonospila brevifacies'' is native to the eastern states of Australia and has been collected from

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and southern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. ''T. brevifacies'' is also present in

as it was introduced to control a number of agricultural pests.Green OR (1984) New Zealand host and locality records for an introduced tortricid parasite, ''Trigonospila brevifacies'' (Diptera: Tachinidae). New Zealand Entomologist 8: 69-71.Shaw PW, Lo P, and Wall DR (2001) Recent introduction and establishment of the leafroller parasitoid ''Trigonospila brevifacies'' (Hardy) (Diptera: Tachinidae) in Nelson. New Zealand Plant Protection 54: 33-36.

Identification

Like all ''Trigonospila'' species, ''T. brevifacies'' can be recognised by its distinctive markings. They are primarily black with pearly whitish to golden transverse bars on the

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

and

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

. ''Trigonospila brevifacies'' is frequently confused with ''T. cingulata'' in locations where both species co-occur. ''T. cingulata'' appears to much more common than ''T. brevifacies'', particularly in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. It is believed T. cingulata is a parasitoid of

chrysomelid The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

beetle larvae in the genus Paropsis, which are abundant herbivores in many Australian environments. Only ''T. brevifacies'' is known to be present in New Zealand. ''Trigonospila brevifacies'' can be easily distinguished from ''T. cingulata'' by colouration of the abdomen. The black and white abdominal markings of ''T. cingulata'' are continuous, crisp stripes from the dorsal to ventral sides of the abdomen, whereas the black markings of ''T. brevifacies'' typically are more or less triangular spots on the anterior margin of each the third, fourth, and fifth abdominal

tergite A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...

s which may or may not be quite diffused. The sides of the abdomen in both sexes of ''T. brevifacies'' are yellow.

Biocontrol

Trigonospila_brevifacies_on_Parsonsia_heterophylla

''Trigonospila brevifacies'' is an economically important parasitoid of a number of larvae of

and has been deployed in

as a

biocontrol Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

agent of a number of pest species including the light brown apple moth ''

Epiphyas postvittana The light brown apple moth (''Epiphyas postvittana'') (often abbreviated to LBAM) is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae. Identification Adult moths Light brown apple moth adults are variable in colour and may be ...

'' (Lepidoptera :

Tortricidae The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genu ...

) and the potato tuber moth ''

Phthorimaea operculella ''Phthorimaea operculella'', also known as the potato tuber moth or tobacco splitworm, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is an oligophagous insect that feeds on the plant family Solanaceae and is especially known for being a major pest of ...

'' (Lepidoptera :

Gelechiidae The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy has been subject to considerable dis ...

). ''T. brevifacies'' was initially introduced to New Zealand to control the light brown apple moth ''Epiphyas postvittana'' and released a number of times between 1967 and 1973 to control a number of other pests. However it competes with many native parasitoids, because it is

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

on Lepidoptera. Of the 18 confirmed and published hosts (below), at least 10 are known pests in agriculture or forestry.

Host range

''Trigonospila brevifacies'' is the only species of ''Trigonospila'' for which substantial host records exist. The species is polyphagous and known to parasitise at least 18 species of Lepidoptera in 8 families. Some of these are non target species and ''T. brevifacies'' is found to compete with many native parasitods Munroe VMW, and Henderson IM (2002) Nontarget Effect of Entomophagous Biocontrol: Shared Parasitism Between Native Lepidopteran Parasitoids and the Biocontrol Agent ''Trigonospila brevifacies'' (Diptera: Tachinidae) in Forest Habitats. Environmental Entomology 31(2): 388-396. Carposinidae * '' Carpinosina adreptella'' (Walker) Wearing C H, WP Thomas, JS Dugdale, & W Danthanarayana (1991) Tortricid pests of pome and stone fruits, Australian and New Zealand species. L.P.S. van der Geest H. H Evenhuis Tortricid pests, their biology, natural enemies and control. 453-472. Elsevier Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Gelechiidae * ''

Helcystogramma ''Helcystogramma'' is a genus of moths in the family Gelechiidae. The genus was erected by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1877. Distribution and diversity The genus is distributed almost worldwide, with around half of known taxa occurring in Asia. ...

sp.'' * ''

'' Zeller Geometridae * '' Pasiphila lunata'' (Philpott) Tortricidae * ''

Cnephasia jactatana The black-lyre leafroller moth (''"Cnephasia" jactatana'') is a tortrix moth species of the family Tortricidae. Distribution The black-lyre leafroller moth is endemic to New Zealand and is common throughout the country. Taxonomy It belongs to ...

'' (Walker) * '' Ctenopseustis obliquana'' (Walker) * '' Epalxiphora axanana'' (Meyrick) * ''

'' (Walker) * '' Planotortrix excessana'' (Walker) * '' Planotortrix notophaea'' (Walker) * '' Pyrgotis lagiatana'' (Walker) * '' Strepsicrates macropetana'' (Meyrick)Withers TM (2001) Colonization of eucalypts in New Zealand by Australian insects. Austral Ecology 26: 467-476. Oecophoricae * '' Eutorna phalocosma'' (Meyrick)Munro MW (1997) ''Eutorna phaulocosma'' Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae), a new host for the introduced Australian parasitoid ''Trigonospila brevifacies'' Hardy (Diptera: Tachinidae). New Zealand Entomologist 20: 71-72. * '' Hierodoris atychioides'' (Butler)Berry JA (1990) Two parasitoid complexes: ''Heirodoris atychioides'' (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae) and ''Icerya purchasi'' Maskell (Homoptera: Margarodidae). New Zealand Entomologist 13: 60-62. Pterophoridae * '' Aciptilia monospilalis'' (Walker) * '' Platyptilia falcatalis'' (Walker) Pyralidae * '' Epipaschia costigeralis'' (Walker)Cantrell BK (1986) An updated hots catalogue for the Australian Tachinidae (Diptera). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 25: 255-265. Stathmopodidae * ''

Stathmopoda skelloni ''Stathmopoda skelloni'', the yellow featherfoot, is a species of moth in the Stathmopodidae family. It is Endemism, endemic to New Zealand and can be found throughout the country. This species inhabits native forest, coastal dunes and shrubland ...

'' (Butler)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15633413 Exoristinae Diptera of Australasia Insects described in 1934