This site is a resource for people who are interested in studying tachinid flies. The scheme was set up primarily to collate records and to act as a place where people interested in studying tachinids can exchange information.

In layman's terms tachinids are 'flies' - insects with 2 wings and most of them look like their cousins, the common house flies. They are often grey or black; they buzz about; their bodies are covered with spikey hairs; and sit at rest with their wings in a delta shape.

What makes them so interesting to me is the way they have evolved to eat other insects in their young stages (as larvae - 'maggots', for want of a better word). The larvae live on or inside the host's body and eat it slowly - eventually killing the host, pupating and finally emerging as an adult fly to continue the cycle.

Granted, it's a bit of a gruesome existance but the ways they have adapted to hunt and attack the hosts are fascinating. Some species have even been bred in captivity and produced commercially as environmentally-friendly ('green') pest-control agents - where the tachinid has been found to attack a crop pest.

If you would like to get in touch to discuss anything please feel free to . Or click here to read a more in-depth explanation.