Bug FAQAdejeania vexatrix
Adejeania vexatrix · Order: Diptera · Family: Tachinidae
Adejeania vexatrix has a bright orange abdomen, heavy black hairs, and very long palpi that point straight forward from under its head. It lives in western North America, from Mexico up through British Columbia. It can be confused with Hystricia abrupta in the east and with Paradejeania rutilioides, but those lack the elongated mouthparts.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The fly shows a bright orange abdomen and dense black setae, and its palpi are unusually long and project straight ahead.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in western North America, ranging from Mexico to British Columbia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range covers western North America, from Mexico up to British Columbia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Hystricia abrupta, a similar tachinid in the eastern United States, does not have the elongated palpi of A. vexatrix. Paradejeania rutilioides also looks similar but lacks the distinctive long mouthparts.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Nevada, California.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell Adejeania vexatrix apart from similar flies?
Look for the very long palpi that stick straight forward; the look-alikes Hystricia abrupta and Paradejeania rutilioides do not have these elongated mouthparts.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is Adejeania vexatrix found?
It occurs in western North America, from Mexico through British Columbia.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tachinidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adejeania_vexatrix
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.