Beris

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Beris
Beris vallata (Common Orange Legionnaire).jpg
Beris vallata
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Stratiomyidae
Subfamily: Beridinae
Genus: Beris
Latreille, 1802 [1]
Type species
Musca chalybata
Forster, 1771 [2]
Synonyms

Beris is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae. [6] [7] [8] They are also referred to as the false soldier fly. As described by Latreille in 1802, these are small to medium sized flies with metallic colors.

Contents

Taxonomy

Scientific Classification
Domain Eukaryota
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Dipteria
Family Stratiomyidae
Subfamily Beridinae
Genus Beris

Description

These are flies with elongated bodies and reduced palpi. The scutellum typically features spines and the abdomen has seven visible segments. They are characterized as having black or metallic green thorax, black or orange abdomen and darkened wings in some species. [9]

Habitat and Behavior

Soldier flies are primarily found in tropical regions but are widespread globally. The larvae are scavengers, inhabiting decaying organic matter, wet moss, compost, and aquatic environments. Adults are typically found near larval habitats, frequenting flowers and forming swarms. [10] These swarms are normally observed around foliage near mountain valleys, marshes, and damp places. [11]

Morphology

Bright, metallic colored species sometimes resemble wasps or bees. The wing venation is a strongly specific characteristic of the family, with interior veins and a small discal cell in the anterior half of the wing. [12] The antennae show structural variations, and the scutellum is equipped with spines.

The larval body is flat with a strongly sclerotized head capsule, three thoracic and about 8 abdominal body segments. The cuticle has a honeycomb-like appearance due to calcium carbonate secretions. The mandibles and maxillae are fused together, forming two distinct mandibular-maxillary complexes. These complexed move alternately in a vertical plain. Terrestrial larvae are elongated and oval with a rounded abdominal end, while aquatic or semi-aquatic larvae have a tapering posterior end with a crown of hydrofuge hair. [12]

The larvae are not predatory or parasitic. They feed on detritus, while their specialized mouthparts serve as sweeping apparatus. Aquatic larvae feed on decaying leaves, micro-organisms and detritus, while the Oxycera larvae feed on algae on moist rocks. [13] Some adults are nectar feeders, indicated by an elongated proboscis and narrow labella, however, most of the species have a relatively short proboscis with a large fleshy labella which consume pollen grains and honeydew. [14] [15]

In general, male flies in the genus Beris tend to be slightly smaller in size compared to females. Their eyes are contiguous in the male. [16] The coloration of the body and wings can vary between species and exhibit sexual dimorphism

Life Cycle

In temperate regions, the life cycle is annual. The larvae may hibernate several times. The eggs are usually pale yellow and elongated. The female is capable of laying 600 or more eggs per batch. Pupation takes place within the final larval skin, or puparium. The pupa is much smaller than puparium since the remaining space is filled with air to allow floatation upon the water's surface. [17]

Species

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratiomyidae</span> Family of flies

The soldier flies are a family of flies. The family contains over 2,700 species in over 380 extant genera worldwide. Larvae are found in a wide array of locations, mostly in wetlands, damp places in soil, sod, under bark, in animal excrement, and in decaying organic matter. Adults are found near larval habitats. They are diverse in size and shape, though they commonly are partly or wholly metallic green, or somewhat wasplike mimics, marked with black and yellow or green and sometimes metallic. They are often rather inactive flies which typically rest with their wings placed one above the other over the abdomen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhagionidae</span> Family of flies

Rhagionidae or snipe flies are a small family of flies. They get their name from the similarity of their often prominent proboscis that looks like the beak of a snipe.

<i>Rhagio</i> Genus of flies

Rhagio is a worldwide genus of predatory snipe flies. Several species in this genus are referred to as downlooker or down-looker flies because they sometimes perch on tree trunks in a head-down position. There are approximately 170 species. They can be distinguished from other rhagionids by the open anal cell on the wings and the lack of a kidney-shaped arista.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athericidae</span> Family of flies

Athericidae is a small family of flies known as water snipe flies or ibis flies. They used to be placed in the family Rhagionidae, but were removed by Stuckenberg in 1973. They are now known to be more closely related to Tabanidae. Species of Athericidae are found worldwide.

<i>Actina chalybea</i> Species of fly

Actina chalybea is a species of 'soldier flies' belonging to the family Stratiomyidae subfamily Beridinae.

<i>Oxycera</i> Genus of flies

Oxycera is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<i>Clitellaria</i> Genus of flies

Clitellaria is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<i>Chorisops</i> Genus of flies

Chorisops is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<i>Actina</i> Genus of flies

Actina is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beridinae</span> Subfamily of flies

Beridinae is a subfamily of soldier flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<i>Solva</i> (fly) Genus of flies

Solva is a fly genus in the family Xylomyidae, the "wood soldier flies".

<i>Xylomya</i> Genus of flies

Xylomya is a fly genus in the family Xylomyidae, the "wood soldier flies".

<i>Coenomyia</i> Genus of flies

Coenomyia is a genus of flies in the family Xylophagidae.

<i>Allognosta</i> Genus of flies

Allognosta is a genus of soldier flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<i>Culcua</i> Genus of flies

Culcua is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae. that are found only in the Indomalayan realm. About eleven species have been described. They have a disc-shaped flagellum to the antenna and have a arista or hair arising from it. The scutellum typically has four strong spines and the abdomen is nearly spherical

Atrichops is a genus of flies in the family Athericidae.

<i>Suragina</i> Genus of flies

Suragina is a genus of flies in the family Athericidae.

References

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