The Piophilidae are a family of "true flies", in the order Diptera. The so-called cheese flies are the best-known members, but most species of the Piophilidae are scavengers in animal products, carrion, and fungi. They may accordingly be important in forensic entomology and medical entomology. For a fly maggot, the larvae of many species have an unusually well-developed ability to leap when alarmed or when abandoning their larval food to pupate; they accordingly may be known as cheese skippers or other kinds of skippers according to their food source.
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecious species, which consist of most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, color, markings, or behavioral or cognitive traits. Male-male reproductive competition has evolved a diverse array of sexually dimorphic traits. Aggressive utility traits such as "battle" teeth and blunt heads reinforced as battering rams are used as weapons in aggressive interactions between rivals. Passive displays such as ornamental feathering or song-calling have also evolved mainly through sexual selection. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated and may be subjected to sexual selection and natural selection. The opposite of dimorphism is monomorphism, when both biological sexes are phenotypically indistinguishable from each other.
Behavioral ecology, also spelled behavioural ecology, is the study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures. Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology after Niko Tinbergen outlined four questions to address when studying animal behaviors: What are the proximate causes, ontogeny, survival value, and phylogeny of a behavior?
Reproductive success is an individual's production of offspring per breeding event or lifetime. This is not limited by the number of offspring produced by one individual, but also the reproductive success of these offspring themselves.
The Queensland fruit fly is a species of fly in the family Tephritidae in the insect order Diptera. B. tryoni is native to subtropical coastal Queensland and northern New South Wales. They are active during the day, but mate at night. B. tryoni lay their eggs in fruit. The larvae then hatch and proceed to consume the fruit, causing the fruit to decay and drop prematurely. B. tryoni are responsible for an estimated $28.5 million a year in damage to Australian crops and are the most costly horticultural pest in Australia. Up to 100% of exposed fruit can be destroyed due to an infestation of this fly species. Previously, pesticides were used to eliminate B. tryoni from damaging crops. However, these chemicals are now banned. Thus, experts devoted to B. tryoni control have transitioned to studying this pests' behaviors to determine a new method of elimination.
Stalk-eyed flies are insects of the fly family Diopsidae. The family is distinguished from most other flies by most members of the family possessing "eyestalks": projections from the sides of the head with the eyes at the end. Some fly species from other families such as Drosophilidae, Platystomatidae, Richardiidae, and Tephritidae have similar heads, but the unique character of the Diopsidae is that their antennae are located on the stalk, rather than in the middle of the head as in all other flies. Stalked eyes are present in all members of the subfamily Diopsinae, but are absent in the Centrioncinae, which retain unstalked eyes similar to those of other flies. The stalked eyes are usually sexually dimorphic, with eyestalks present but shorter in females.
Telegony is a theory of heredity holding that offspring can inherit the characteristics of a previous mate of the female parent; thus the child of a woman might partake of traits of a previous sexual partner. Experiments in the late 19th century on several species failed to provide evidence that offspring would inherit any character from their mother's previous mates. It was superseded by the rediscovery of Mendelian inheritance and the Boveri–Sutton chromosome theory.
Rhagoletis juglandis, also known as the walnut husk fly, is a species of tephritid or fruit fly in the family Tephritidae. It is closely related to the walnut husk maggot Rhagoletis suavis. This species of fly belongs to the R. suavis group, which has a natural history consistent with allopatric speciation. The flies belonging to this group are morphologically distinguishable.
Paralleloneurum is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. It is closely related to the genera Thinophilus and Nanothinophilus.
Female sperm storage is a biological process and often a type of sexual selection in which sperm cells transferred to a female during mating are temporarily retained within a specific part of the reproductive tract before the oocyte, or egg, is fertilized. This process takes place in some species of animals, but not in humans. The site of storage is variable among different animal taxa and ranges from structures that appear to function solely for sperm retention, such as insect spermatheca and bird sperm storage tubules, to more general regions of the reproductive tract enriched with receptors to which sperm associate before fertilization, such as the caudal portion of the cow oviduct containing sperm-associating annexins. Female sperm storage is an integral stage in the reproductive process for many animals with internal fertilization. It has several documented biological functions including:
Sexual antagonistic co-evolution is the relationship between males and females where sexual morphology changes over time to counteract the opposite's sex traits to achieve the maximum reproductive success. This has been compared to an arms race between sexes. In many cases, male mating behavior is detrimental to the female's fitness. For example, when insects reproduce by means of traumatic insemination, it is very disadvantageous to the female's health. During mating, males will try to inseminate as many females as possible, however, the more times a female's abdomen is punctured, the less likely she is to survive. Females that possess traits to avoid multiple matings will be more likely to survive, resulting in a change in morphology. In males, genitalia is relatively simple and more likely to vary among generations compared to female genitalia. This results in a new trait that females have to avoid in order to survive.
Diptera is an order of winged insects commonly known as flies. Diptera, which are one of the most successful groups of organisms on Earth, are very diverse biologically. None are truly marine but they occupy virtually every terrestrial niche. Many have co-evolved in association with plants and animals. The Diptera are a very significant group in the decomposition and degeneration of plant and animal matter, are instrumental in the breakdown and release of nutrients back into the soil, and whose larvae supplement the diet of higher agrarian organisms. They are also an important component in food chains.
The family Nothybidae contains only the genus Nothybus, a group of colorful and elongated flies. The family has been recently revised.
Glyphidops flavifrons is a member of the Neriidae family of the order Diptera. This fly is found in the southern United States, Central America, and South America. Historically, it has also been called Oncopsia seductrix Hennig or Oncopsia mexicana.G. flavifrons live, reproduce, and lay their eggs on the bark of trees in the early stages of decay. In this species, it is common to see the male flies to exhibit aggression in the presence of the females. These males may attack the copulating pair to help decrease the chances of other males mating and increase their own chances.
Glyphidops is a genus of cactus flies in the family Neriidae.
Prochyliza xanthostoma, the waltzing fly, is a species of carrion-feeding cheese skipper, insects in the family Piophilidae and the order Diptera. P. xanthostoma is a member of the genus Prochyliza, which contains eleven species. The adult flies are found through North America and are brown-bodied, with orange and black coloring. Mating occurs on animal carcasses and male perform mating rituals; females engage in ejaculate feeding. The waltzing fly is known for its exaggerated sexual dimorphism and has thus become a prominent model for sexual dimorphism and larval behavior. These organisms are known as cheese skippers because when startled, the larvae can leap several inches into the air. P. xanthostoma is an important model organism for sexual selection, larval behavior, and adult reproductive success and survivability.
Derocephalus angusticollis is a fly in the family Neriidae. They are typically found on the east coast of Australia near rotting vegetation. Aggregating on the rotting bark of trees such as Acacia longifolia and other trees in New South Wales and southern Queensland. D. angusticollis flies found in the wild have accelerated speeds of development and age of mortality when compared to those in captivity. Derocephalus One characteristic of the neriid fly is that it demonstrates sexual dimorphism. Males have a larger build as well as exaggerated physical characteristics such as wider heads and longer limbs. Certain phenotypic characteristics are dependent on the diet of the parents.
Telostylinus is a genus of flies in the family Neriidae.
Chaetonerius is a genus of flies in the family Neriidae.
Telostylus is a genus of flies in the family Neriidae.
