Bug FAQAustralian Leafroller Tachinid
Trigonospila brevifacies · Order: Diptera · Family: Tachinidae
Also called: Australian Leaf-roller Tachinid
Trigonospila brevifacies is a tachinid fly native to eastern Australia and introduced to New Zealand for pest control. It is a parasitoid of late-stage caterpillars of several moth and butterfly species and is used to suppress pests like the light brown apple moth.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The fly is mostly black with shiny whitish-golden bands across its thorax and abdomen.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Because it attacks many Lepidoptera species, it can compete with native parasitoids.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It has also been established in New Zealand after intentional release.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The species parasitises late larval stages of various Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) caterpillars.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Like most tachinid flies, its larvae develop inside host caterpillars, eventually killing them.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
New Zealand is the only other country where it occurs, due to introduction.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be mistaken for the related species Trigonospila cingulata where both occur. T. cingulata attacks leaf beetle larvae of the genus Paropsis, not Lepidoptera.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What does Trigonospila brevifacies look like?
It is a black fly with shiny whitish-golden transverse bars on its thorax and abdomen.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is this fly found?
It is native to eastern Australia (Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, southern Queensland) and has been introduced to New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
What does it feed on?
The fly is a parasitoid of late-stage caterpillars of many moth and butterfly species.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it used for pest control?
Yes, it has been released in New Zealand to help control pests such as the light brown apple moth and the potato tuber moth.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tachinidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigonospila_brevifacies
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.