Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Decomposer

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Warning Colors

Status

Uncommon

About

This soldier fly lives in decaying vegetation and damp forest floor debris. Its larvae possess a hardened, leathery skin that resists digestion by most predators.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Stratiomyidae

Genus

Ptecticus

Species

Ptecticus trivittatus