{"id":10485,"date":"2026-08-30T11:50:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T11:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/bugs\/?p=10485"},"modified":"2026-09-02T18:16:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T18:16:02","slug":"2026-08-meet-the-bishops-mitre-parasite-fly-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/bugs\/posts\/2026-08-meet-the-bishops-mitre-parasite-fly-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Parasitic grubs and flower drinkers: Meet the bishop&#8217;s-mitre parasite fly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bishop&#8217;s-mitre parasite fly (<em>Cistogaster globosa<\/em>) is a tiny, highly specialized bristle fly measuring just 3.5 to 5 millimeters long. Despite its miniature size, this fascinating insect sports striking differences between the sexes: while females are completely midnight-black, males show off a brilliant golden-orange body that instantly stands out in the grass. Thriving in warm, sunlit meadows and field edges, free-living adult flies spend their days sipping nectar from umbrella-shaped flowers and daisies. Beneath this peaceful routine lies a dramatic lifestyle: females lay their eggs directly onto the back of the bishop&#8217;s-mitre shieldbug (<em>Aelia acuminata<\/em>). Once hatched, the tiny larva burrows inside the bug nymph to develop, eventually bringing down its host before emerging as an adult. By an incredible coincidence, I spotted this male parasite fly for the very first time on a large meadow near Akalla, Sweden\u2014just one hour after finding its host shieldbug for the first time only a few hundred meters away!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The bishop&#8217;s-mitre parasite fly (Cistogaster globosa) is a tiny, highly specialized bristle fly measuring just 3.5 to 5 millimeters long. 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