Exaireta spinigera

{{Speciesbox | image = Garden Soldier Fly face on (14412405409).jpg | genus = Exaireta | species = spinigera | display_parents = 2 | authority = (Wiedemann, 1830)<ref name="Wiedemann1830">{{cite book |last1=Wiedemann |first1=Christian Rudolph Wilhelm |title=Aussereuropäische Zweiflügelige Insekten |date=1830 |volume=2 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/88495#page/7/mode/1up |accessdate=9 March 2024}}</ref> | synonyms = *''Beris albimacula'' Walker, 1848<ref name="Walker1848">{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=F. |title=List of the specimens of dipterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. part 1 |date=1848 |pages=1–229 |publisher=British Museum |location=London }}</ref> *''Beris servillei'' Macquart, 1838<ref name="Macquart1838b">{{cite book |last1=Macquart |first1=P.J.M. |title=Insectes diptères nouveaux ou peu connus. Tome premier.-1re partie |date=1838 |publisher=Roret |location=Paris |pages=5–221, 25 pls}}</ref> *''Xylophagus spinigera'' Wiedemann, 1830<ref name="Wiedemann1830"/> }}

'''''Exaireta spinigera''''' commonly known as the garden soldier fly<ref name="landcare">{{cite web |title=Garden soldier fly |url=https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/tools-and-resources/identification/what-is-this-bug/garden-soldier-fly/ |publisher=Landcare Research |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> or blue soldier fly<ref name="Bluesoldier">{{cite web |title=Blue soldier fly |url=https://eol.org/pages/824160 |website=Encyclopedia of Life |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>. The species is a part of the Stratiomyidae family. The originally described holotype of the species was kept in the Berlin Museum and was discovered when Australia was still referred to as New Holland.<ref name="Wiedemann1830" /> The original taxonomic description of the species requires translation from German using the Fraktur alphabet.

thumb|Garden soldier fly, ''Exaireta spinigera''

==Description== ''Exaireta spinigera'' has an elongated abdomen with four yellow-tipped spikes that protrude from the scutellum, found near the thorax.<ref name="Nartshuk">{{cite journal |last1=Nartshuk |first1=E. P. |last2=Khachikov |first2=E. A. |last3=Poushkova |first3=E. A. |title=Two Alien Species of Soldier Flies (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) on the Black Sea Coast of Russia |journal=Russian Journal of Biological Invasions |date=1 January 2020 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=94–101 |doi=10.1134/S2075111721010112}}</ref> It is black with violet undertones<ref name="Hutton">{{cite journal |last1=Hutton |first1=F.W. |title=Transactions of the New Zealand Institute: Zoology |journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand |date=1900 |volume=33 |issue=16 |page=4 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/transactions-and-proceedings-of-the-royal-society-of-new-zealand/1900/00/00/-33/29}}</ref> and shaded wings.<ref name="Tillyard">{{cite book |last1=Tillyard |first1=R.J. |title=The Insects of Australia and New Zealand |date=1926 |publisher=Angus & Robertson LTD |location=Australia, New South Wales, Sydney}}</ref> The abdomen is also characterized by a metallic shine like other members of the Stratiomyidae family.<ref name="Zboro">{{cite book |last1=Zborowski |first1=P. |last2=Storey |first2=R. |title=A Field Guide to Insects in Australia |date=2010 |publisher=Reed New Holland |location=Australia, New South Wales, Sydney |edition=Third}}</ref> ''Exaireta spinigera'' also sports typical Stratiomyidae antennae which are composed of three distinctive segments.<ref name="Tillyard" />

The length of the fly has been recorded between 14mm<ref name="Nartshuk" /> and 16mm.<ref name="Farrow">{{cite book |last1=Farrow |first1=R. |title=Insects of South-Eastern Australia: An Ecological and Behavioural Guide. |date=2016 |publisher=CSIRO publishing |location=Australia, Victoria}}</ref> Historically it was noted the males were 9-10mm long with a 7-8mm wing length and females 13-15mm with an 11-12mm wing length.<ref name="Hutton" /> Both the larvae and fly form of ''Exaireta spinigera'' have a flattened-shaped body, which is also typical of the Stratiomyidae family<ref name="Colless">{{cite book |last1=Colless |first1=D.H. |last2=McAlpine |first2=D.K. |last3=Entomology |first3=C.D.O. |title=The Insects of Australia:Diptera |date=1991 |publisher=Melbourne University Press |location=Australia |edition=Second}}</ref> but no other sources could be found describing the morphology of the larvae or eggs.

== Range ==

=== Natural global range === ''Exaireta spinigera'' is native to Australia but has been introduced to many different regions including New Zealand, Hawaii,<ref name="Malloch">{{cite journal |last1=Malloch |first1=J.R. |last2=Mackerras |first2=I.M. |title=Notes on Australian Diptera, No. 16. |journal=Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales |date=1928 |volume=16 |pages=360–362 |url=https://bugz.ento.org.nz/viewer/f61c073c-8e2d-450d-8f10-ad40fab2cd44#1}}</ref> North America, Europe,<ref name= "Schifani"/> and Russia.<ref name="Nartshuk" />

It was first found in Honolulu, Hawaii in the 1890s and became commonly spread by the 1900s. It was later found in North America, in Santa Barbara, California in 1985.<ref name="Swann">{{cite journal |last1=Swann |first1=J. E. |last2=Kenner |first2=R. D. |last3=Cannings |first3=R. A. |last4=Copley |first4=C. R. |title=''Exaireta spinigera'' (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): the ﬁrst published North American records of an Australian soldier fly |journal=Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia |date=2006 |volume=103 |pages=71–72 |url=https://journal.entsocbc.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/116/113 |language=en |issn=1929-7890}}</ref> In Europe, it has been spreading throughout Italy and while it was first recorded in the Italian Peninsula, it has since been found in France.<ref name="Schifani">{{cite journal |last1=Schifani |first1=Enrico |last2=Paolinelli |first2=Ronni |title=Los foros y las redes sociales ayudan a descubrir especies exóticas en Europa y monitorear su propagación: el caso de ''Exaireta spinigera'' (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) en la península italiana y Sicilia |journal=Graellsia |date=22 October 2018 |volume=74 |issue=2 |pages=079 |doi=10.3989/graellsia.2018.v74.213|url=https://www.openaccessrepository.it/record/61704 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220033331/https://www.openaccessrepository.it/record/61704 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 20, 2024 |url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}</ref> ''Exaireta spinigera'' was also most recently discovered on the Black Sea coast in Alder, Russia.<ref name="Nartshuk" /> The species has a widespread distribution and is likely in other countries not mentioned.

=== New Zealand range === ''Exaireta spinigera'' has been found throughout both islands of New Zealand. The furthest south it was recorded was Papatowai and the most northern was Pupuke.<ref name="Bluesoldier" /> It has been historically found in Auckland, Whangārei and Wellington as part of its known habitat.<ref name="Hutton" />

==Habitat== The larvae of ''Exaireta spinigera'' prefer living in decaying organic matter<ref name= "Swann"/> and are commonly associated with residential compost bins. The adult garden soldier fly also prefers and is often found hovering around decaying organic matter.<ref name= "Swann"/> They are commonly seen around residential gardens.<ref name="Mackillop">{{cite journal |last1=Mackillop |first1=Stephanie |last2=Keitel |first2=Claudia |last3=Latty |first3=Tanya |title=Beyond ''Hermetia illucens'' : An investigation of the garden soldier fly ''Exaireta spinigera'' as a potential bioconverter of food waste |journal=Journal of Applied Entomology |date=February 2022 |volume=146 |issue=1–2 |pages=168–174 |doi=10.1111/jen.12936}}</ref>

==Ecology==

===Life cycle/Phenology=== ''Exaireta spinigera'' has been noticed in Australia to have a seasonal pattern where activity and sightings peak in Autumn and Spring. The peak starts in April but the species is most active between March and May and is shown to have another activity peak between September and December.<ref name="Mackillop" /> The species is also diurnal.<ref name="Bluesoldier" />

There is a preference for eggs to be laid directly into substrate such as decaying organic matter but not much is known about the rearing, lifecycle and mating behaviour of ''Exaireta spinigera''.<ref name="Mackillop" /> The pupa of Stratiomydiae is formed inside the larval skin which does not change during the process.<ref name="Tillyard" /> It was assumed that when conditions were too moist the larvae of ''Exaireta spinigera'' sought out drier locations to pupate but were not able to be observed.<ref name="Mackillop" /> There is no current literature on the life cycle, mating and rearing behavior of the species. ===Diet and foraging=== Stratiomyidae is a family of detrivores.<ref name="Mackillop" /> ''Exaireta spinigera'' has been studied to see its effectiveness as a bioconvertor of food waste as the larvae consumes detritus.<ref name="Mackillop" /> It is assumed that pollen and nectar may be a potential food source for adults.<ref name="landcare" />

===Predators, Parasites, and Diseases=== Predators of ''Exaireta spinigera'' include ''Vespula germanica'', the German wasp,<ref>{{cite web |title=German Wasp - Encyclopedia of Life |url=https://eol.org/pages/51384280 |website=eol.org}}</ref> ''Trite planiceps'', and the black-headed jumping spider.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Trite planiceps'' Simon 1899 - Encyclopedia of Life |url=https://eol.org/pages/1214805 |website=eol.org}}</ref> Female praying mantis nymphs ''Miomantis caffra'' predate on the larvae stage ''Exareita spinigera''<ref name="Fea">{{cite journal |last1=Fea |first1=Murray P. |last2=Stanley |first2=Margaret C. |last3=Holwell |first3=Gregory I. |title=Cannibalistic siblicide in praying mantis nymphs (''Miomantis caffra'') |journal=Journal of Ethology |date=January 2014 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=43–51 |doi=10.1007/s10164-013-0391-z|doi-access=free }}</ref> and ''Dactylosternum abdominale'', a water beetle predates on both egg and larvae of ''Exaireta spinigera''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Velez-Gavilan |first1=Jeanine |title=''Dactylosternum abdominale'' (water scavenger beetle) |journal=CABI Compendium |date=7 January 2022 |doi=10.1079/cabicompendium.18139|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q14673254}}

Category:Stratiomyidae Category:Insects described in 1830 Category:Taxa named by Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann Category:Flies of Australasia Category:Flies of New Zealand