Eulonchus

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Eulonchus
Clintonia uniflora 4915 cropped.jpg
Eulonchus sapphirinus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Acroceridae
Subfamily: Panopinae
Genus: Eulonchus
Gerstaecker, 1856 [1]
Type species
Eulonchus smaragdinus

Eulonchus is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. There are six described species in Eulonchus. The genus is found in North America. Adults have a metallic blue, green or sometimes purple coloration, giving them a jewel-like appearance. A common name for flies in the genus is the North American jewelled spider flies. [2] Adults are also known as "sapphires" or "emeralds". [3]

Contents

Species

These six species belong to the genus Eulonchus: [2]

Distribution

Most species of Eulonchus are distributed west of the Rocky Mountains in the United States, northwards to Canada and southwards to Baja California, Mexico. The exception is Eulonchus marialiciae , which is known only from a small area in the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, though future studies are needed to confirm the species' true range. [2]

Hosts

Flies in the genus attack spiders in the families Euctenizidae and Antrodiaetidae. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Robert Osten-Sacken</span> Russian diplomat and entomologist

Carl Robert Osten-Sacken or Carl-Robert Romanovich, Baron von der Osten-Sacken, Baron Osten Sacken was a Russian diplomat and entomologist. He served as the Russian consul general in New York City during the American Civil War, living in the United States from 1856 to 1877. He worked on the taxonomy of flies in general and particularly of the family Tipulidae.

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Scellus is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.

<i>Brachypalpus</i> Genus of flies

Brachypalpus is a genus of hoverflies, from the family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. The head is triangular and produced well forwards and somewhat downwards. The thorax and abdomen with pile often rather long. The hind femur is swollen and with an obtuse spur apically and ventrally. The hind trochanters of male is spurred.
The larvae are of the rat-tailed type feeding on decaying sap under tree bark. Larvae live in decaying trees and logs. Larva and pupa have been described by Malloch.

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

Philopotinae is a subfamily of small-headed flies. They have an arched body shape, as well as enlarged postpronotal lobes that form a collar behind the head. Their larvae are endoparasites of araneomorph spiders in the subgroup Entelegynae.

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

Panopinae is a subfamily of small-headed flies (Acroceridae). Their larvae are endoparasites of spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae.

Eutreta is a genus of the family Tephritidae, better known as fruit flies.

<i>Acrocera</i> Genus of flies

Acrocera is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.

<i>Ogcodes</i> Genus of flies

Ogcodes is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. About 90 species have been described for the genus.

<i>Nemomydas</i> Genus of flies

Nemomydas is a genus of flies in the family Mydidae.

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.

<i>Pterodontia</i> Genus of flies

Pterodontia is a genus of small-headed flies. There are at least 20 described species in Pterodontia.

<i>Turbopsebius</i> Genus of flies

Turbopsebius is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. There are about four described species in Turbopsebius.

Ocnaea is a genus of small-headed flies. There are 20 described species in Ocnaea.

<i>Eulonchus sapphirinus</i> Species of fly

Eulonchus sapphirinus is a species of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.

Eulonchus tristis is a species of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.

Eulonchus marginatus is a species of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.

Apsona is a genus of small-headed flies. It contains only one species, Apsona muscaria, which is endemic to New Zealand. It is very similar to the North American species Eulonchus smaragdinus.

<i>Sabroskya</i> Genus of flies

Sabroskya is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. It is known from South Africa and Malawi. It is named after the American entomologist Curtis Williams Sabrosky.

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

Cyrtinae is a subfamily of the Acroceridae. Their larvae are endoparasites of araneomorph spiders in the subgroup Entelegynae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gerstaecker, A. (1856). "Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Henopier" (PDF). Entomologische Zeitung Stettin. 17: 339–361. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Borkent, C.J.; Gillung, J.P.; Winterton, S.L. (2016). "Jewelled spider flies of North America: a revision and phylogeny of Eulonchus Gerstaecker (Diptera, Acroceridae)". ZooKeys (619): 103–146. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.619.8249 . PMC   5090163 . PMID   27829790.
  3. "Flying jewels spell death for tarantulas: Study of a North American spider fly genus". ScienceDaily . Pensoft Publishers. 5 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 Schlinger, E. I. (1960). "A Review of the Genus Eulonchus Gerstaecker. Part I. The Species of the Smaragdinus Group (Diptera: Acroceridae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America . 53 (3): 416–422. doi:10.1093/aesa/53.3.416.
  5. 1 2 Osten-Sacken, Carl Robert (1877). Western Diptera : descriptions of new genera and species of Diptera from the region west of the Mississippi and especially from California. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. p. 354.
  6. Brimley, C.S. (1925). "New species of Diptera from North Carolina". Entomological News . 36: 73–77.
  7. Loew, Hermann (1872). "Diptera Americae septentrionalis indigena. Centuria decima". Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift. 16: 49–124. doi:10.1002/mmnd.18720160110 . Retrieved 25 July 2021.

Further reading