Feather-legged Fly

July 27, 2026

A Feather-legged Fly (Trichopoda pennipes), with a wingspan of 1/2 to 7/10 inch and a body length of 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

It’s a member of the Tachinidae fly family and is a fly that is a good one to have around. Females of this species lay their eggs on insects like squash bugs, green stink bugs, and leaf-footed bugs, which can cause much damage to your vegetable garden. The larvae slowly eat the insects they are attached to.

As adults they eat nectar and pollen and have a lifespan of about 2 to 4 weeks.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.