Franz-Rudolf (Rudi) Schnitzler Curator

Joined: Nov 4, 2012 Last Active: Sep 22, 2024 iNaturalist NZ

My main interest apart from flies in general is the parasitic fly family Tachinidae. Tachinidae are parasitoids of a variety of insects. Most host associations are unknown. Tachinidae are difficult to identify and in New Zealand there are many undescribed species. I have prepared a preliminary key to New Zealand some tachinid genera, which can be accessed at http://tachinidae.landcareresearch.co.nz. My long term goal is revision of New Zealand Tachinidae at the generic level. For this reason I would be grateful to receive freshly collected specimen from anywhere in New Zealand. Specimens should be frozen or pinned. If possible the right side legs can be stored in 95% ethanol for molecular analysis and labelled for cross reference to its correct specimen. Information such as locality, collection date and collector for each specimen is also needed. Specimens will be deposited in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection (NZAC) at Landcare Research in Auckland.

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