The Thyreophora cynophila fly, once believed extinct since 1836, drew renewed attention after a France report from the Pyrenees National Park press office. The species had lingered in memory as a vanished insect, its striking orange head and unusual life history raising interest among entomologists and conservationists alike.
More than a century and a half later, a vividly orange-headed fly, nicknamed the “vulture,” was first observed in Spain in 2010. Following that sighting, Laurent Pelozuelo, a researcher from Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, began a focused study of the species on the French side of the Pyrenees, aiming to understand its distribution, habitat preferences, and ecological role in mountain ecosystems.
In the Oso Valley of Pyrenees-Atlantiques, French naturalists noted a behavioral cue that aided discovery: the flies tended to lay eggs on the decaying remains of wild animals, a scavenger-based life cycle that made detection possible in rugged terrain.
According to a park statement, an encounter occurred when a wild boar carcass lay beneath snow at about 1700 meters above sea level. A guide and observer spotted swarms of the familiar-looking insects around the carcass. Not merely circling, they were Thyreophora cynophila with their signature bright orange heads, drawing attention to the species in a high-altitude alpine setting.
Separately, researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the University of Copenhagen examined the fungus Entomophthora mushinai, which infects houseflies. This organism releases chemicals that influence male behavior, prompting mating actions with infected female corpses, a finding that underscores the intricate ways pathogens can shape insect life cycles and reproductive dynamics. [Attribution: Pyrenees National Park press office; research institutions involved]