Helina sp. (genus)

1 Muscid fly at Table Top, NSW

Helina sp. (genus) at Table Top, NSW - 16 Oct 2020
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Identification history

Helina sp. (genus) 24 Mar 2021 MichaelMulvaney
Helina sp. (genus) 25 Feb 2021 jks
Unidentified 17 Oct 2020 ChrisAllen

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3 comments

   24 Oct 2020
The fly is a Helena sp.
   24 Oct 2020
The Puppeteer fungus infects flies, invading their nervous system and eating them from the inside out.

In their death throes, the infected flies – like puppets on a string – obligingly climb to a high point and spread their wings, exposing their abdomen and allowing the fungus to shoot its spores as widely as possible to infect new flies.

Thankfully I am not a fly
ChrisAllen wrote:
   24 Oct 2020
Ahhh, that makes sense. It had attached to my pants pocket when I walked through some long grass but appeared to be dead when I looked at it. I'm also glad I'm not a fly.

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Location information

Sighting information

  • 1 - 3 Abundance
  • 16 Oct 2020 07:49 AM Recorded on
  • ChrisAllen Recorded by

Species information

  • Helina sp. (genus) Scientific name
  • Muscid fly Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Local native
  • Non-invasive or negligible
  • Up to 908.3m Recorded at altitude
  • Machine learning

Record quality

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  • More than one media file
  • Verified by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
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