Landcare Research - Manaaki Whenua

Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua

Garden soldier fly

Exaireta spinigera (Wiedemann)


Order: Diptera
Family: Stratiomyidae

Size range

  • Body length about 14 mm

Distribution

  • Introduced from Australia

Life History

  • Seen in gardens and sometimes in houses
  • Adults probably feed on nectar and pollen in flowers
  • Larvae feed on decaying vegetation, often in compost heaps
  • A similar species, American soldier fly, is common in northern New Zealand

Additional images