| Megaselia rufipes | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Phoridae |
| Genus: | Megaselia |
| Species: | M. rufipes |
| Binomial name | |
| Megaselia rufipes (Meigen, 1804) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Megaselia rufipes, the coffin fly, is a species of scuttle flies (insects in the family Phoridae). [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Phoridae are a family of small, hump-backed flies resembling fruit flies. Phorid flies can often be identified by their escape habit of running rapidly across a surface rather than taking to the wing. This behaviour is a source of one of their alternate names, scuttle fly. Another vernacular name, coffin fly, refers to Conicera tibialis. About 4,000 species are known in 230 genera. The most well-known species is cosmopolitan Megaselia scalaris. At 0.4 mm in length, the world's smallest fly is the phorid Euryplatea nanaknihali.
The fly Megaselia scalaris is a member of the order Diptera and the family Phoridae, and it is widely distributed in warm regions of the world. The family members are commonly known as the "humpbacked fly", the "coffin fly", and the "scuttle fly". The name "scuttle fly" derives from the jerky, short bursts of running, characteristic to the adult fly. The name "coffin fly" is due to their being found in coffins, digging six feet deep in order to reach buried corpses. It is one of the more common species found within the family Phoridae; more than 370 species have been identified within North America.
Anevrina luggeri is a species in the family Phoridae, in the order Diptera ("flies").
Atomosia rufipes is a species of robber flies in the family Asilidae.
Dohrniphora incisuralis is a species of scuttle flies.
Dohrniphora is a genus of scuttle flies. There are at least 240 described species in Dohrniphora.
Gymnophora luteiventris is a species of scuttle flies.
Phalacrotophora epeirae is a species of scuttle flies.
Promachus rufipes, known generally as the red-footed cannibalfly or bee panther, is a species of robber flies.
Megaselia globipyga is a species of scuttle flies.
Phalacrotophora longifrons is a species of scuttle flies.
Lecanocerus is a genus of scuttle flies. There is at least one described species in Lecanocerus, L. compressiceps.
Megaselia aurea is a species of scuttle flies.
Puliciphora borinquenensis is a species of scuttle flies.
Puliciphora is a genus of scuttle flies. There are at least 110 described species in Puliciphora.
Apocephalus coquilletti is a species of scuttle flies.
Apocephalus is a genus of ant-decapitating flies. There are at least 300 described species in Apocephalus.
Megaselia halterata is a species of scuttle fly or hump-backed flies in the family Phoridae. "The mushroom phorid" is also used to refer to M. halterata. Megaselia halterata is a common pest of mushroom cultivation, attracted by the aroma of developing fungal mycelium. The larvae damage both the mushroom mycelium and gill tissues. Megaslia halterata can be found worldwide.
Howardula is a genus of nematode that infests the larvae of mushroom-feeding flies, beetles, and other insects. Various Howardula species and strains infest mushroom-feeding Drosophila, including Howardula aoronymphium and Howardula neocosmis. Howardula husseyi can infest the mushroom phorid Megaselia halterata.
Styletta is a genus of flies in the family Phoridae.
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