| Acrocera unguiculata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Acroceridae |
| Subfamily: | Acrocerinae |
| Genus: | Acrocera |
| Species: | A. unguiculata |
| Binomial name | |
| Acrocera unguiculata | |
Acrocera unguiculata is a species of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.
The Acroceridae are a small family of odd-looking flies. They have a hump-backed appearance with a strikingly small head, generally with a long proboscis for accessing nectar. They are rare and not widely known. The most frequently applied common names are small-headed flies or hunch-back flies. Many are bee or wasp mimics. Because they are parasitoids of spiders, they also are sometimes known as spider flies.
Nemestrinoidea is a small, monophyletic superfamily of flies, whose relationship to the other Brachycera is uncertain; they are sometimes grouped with the Tabanomorpha rather than the Asilomorpha. They are presently considered to be the sister taxon to the Asiloidea. The group contains two very small extant families, the Acroceridae and Nemestrinidae, both of which occur worldwide but contain only small numbers of rare species. One extinct family, Rhagionemestriidae, is also included in Nemestrinoidea.
Mythicomyiidae, commonly called mythicomyiids, are very tiny flies (0.5–5.0 mm) found throughout most parts of the world, especially desert and semi-desert regions, except the highest altitudes and latitudes. They are not as common in the tropics, but genera such as Cephalodromia and Platypygus are known from these regions. Many of these "microbombyliids" have a humpbacked thorax and lack the dense vestiture common in the Bombyliidae. Mythicomyiids have until recently not had much attention in the literature. Their small size has caused them to be missed when collecting. Yellow pan trapping and fine-mesh netting in Malaise and aerial sweep nets has resulted in a number of undescribed species from many parts of the world. A high diversity of both genera and species exists for this family in Africa, especially northern and southern portions. About 350 species are known. Hundreds more await description.
Acrocerinae is a subfamily of Acroceridae. They are small distinctive flies whose larvae are endoparasites of spiders. Adult hunchback-flies visit flowers to feed on nectar. Traditionally the subfamily included the genera now placed in Cyrtinae and Ogcodinae, but the subfamily in this sense was found to be polyphyletic and was split up in 2019.
Philopotinae is a subfamily of small-headed flies. Their larvae are endoparasites of araneomorph spiders in the subgroup Entelegynae.
Panopinae is a subfamily of small-headed flies (Acroceridae). Their larvae are endoparasites of spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae.
Acrocera orbiculus, also known as the top-horned hunchback, is a species of fly belonging to the family Acroceridae. The species has a holarctic distribution, ranging from North America to the Palaearctic.
Acrocera is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.
Acrocera subfasciata is a species of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.
Ogcodes is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. About 90 species have been described for the genus.
Eulonchus halli is a species of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. It was named after one of its original collectors, Jack C. Hall, who was also a colleague of the species's author, Evert I. Schlinger, at the University of California.
Pterodontia is a genus of small-headed flies. There are at least 20 described species in Pterodontia.
Pterodontia flavipes is a species of small-headed flies. Adult males are 5.5–10.5 mm in size, while adult females are 5–9 mm. The larvae are thought to enter their host spiders at the leg articulations. First instar larvae of the species have also been recorded attacking the mites Podothrombium and Abrolophus.
Ocnaea is a genus of small-headed flies. There are at least 20 described species in Ocnaea.
Lasia is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. There are about 19 described species in Lasia, which are distributed in the New World.
Eulonchus tristis is a species of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.
Archocyrtus is an extinct genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. The genus is known from compression fossils from the Late Jurassic Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan. The genus is the only member of the subfamily Archocyrtinae.
Philopota is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. It is the type genus of the subfamily Philopotinae.
Leucopsina is a genus of small-headed flies endemic to Australia. Flies in the genus are colored black and yellow, mimicking the appearance of a wasp. Males and females measure 9.0 mm and 12.0 mm, respectively.
Megalybus is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.
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