New records of bristle flies (Diptera, Tachinidae) from Morocco: Expanding the taxonomic diversity and geographic distribution of the family

The Tachinidae is a large family of flies comprising over 8500 species. The adults vary greatly in size, ranging from 1 to 17 mm. The larvae of Tachinidae are parasitoids of various arthropods. They play an important ecological role as regulators of phytophagous insect’s populations. In Morocco, a Catalogue of Diptera has been compiled recently, which comprises all the studies of the taxonomy and distribution of Tachinidae, this catalogue documents 147 species in the country. However, research on this family of Diptera still remains relatively limited in Morocco compared to other areas in the western Palaearctic.

This article lists sixteen species of Tachinidae as new records for Morocco; ten of these are also new records for North Africa. Brief notes on habitats where these species were collected are given.