The Veiled Chameleon: April 2005: Muscidifurax raptor and House Flies

Muscidifurax raptor and House Flies

Okay, these things are cool (I borrowed these photos from the Universal Chalcidoidea Database):

That is a male Mucidifurax raptor, a wasp which parasites on Musca domestica, the house fly (I'm guessing it goes after other flies as well).

Here's a female depositing an egg within the pupa of a house fly:

I've been reading about Musca domestica because they and their larvae seem to be on the menu at Internet bug stores, such as the American Cricket Ranch, for the feeding of various critters. I just bought 150 of them because I wanted to get something for my chameleon to hunt besides crickets...they're too easy and she must get a bit bored with them. Besides, variety is important for nutrition. One hundred and fifty was the smallest amount I could get for the low-low price of just $3.99 plus shipping. Another dealer wanted to sell me 5000 pupae which would emerge in just a couple of days for $15...what would I do with 5000 flies?! I'm thinking that 150 is over the top. So I was also wondering what it'd take to raise the suckers for myself. After reading about that for a bit, I decided that it's probably something best avoided. But when I visited this page on the house fly, I was introduced to that awesome little wasp with the cool name: Muscidifurax raptor.

Check out it's life cycle:

(I borrowed that image from a page about the wasp, where it is credited still elsewhere, the Ciba-Geigy Corporation.)

The place that wanted to send me 5000 house fly pupae, Beneficial Insectary, apparently sells those little wasps to people who want rid of their flies. Remember that the next time you find yourself trying to deal with those suckers.