Scatopsidae

Last updated

Scatopsidae
Flies on Leucanthemum vulgare.JPG
Minute black scavenger flies on oxeye daisy.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Nematocera
Infraorder: Bibionomorpha
Superfamily: Scatopsoidea
Family: Scatopsidae
Newman, 1834
Subfamilies
Scatopsidae on Impatiens

The minute black scavenger flies or "dung midges", are a family, Scatopsidae, of nematoceran flies. Despite being distributed throughout the world, they form a small family with only around 250 described species in 27 genera, although many await description and doubtless even more await discovery. These are generally small, sometimes minute, dark flies (from 0.6 to 5 mm), generally similar to black flies (Simuliidae), but usually lacking the humped thorax characteristic of that family.

Contents

The larvae of most species are unknown, but the few that have been studied have a rather flattened shape and are terrestrial and saprophagous.

Scatopsids are a well established group and fossils are known from amber deposits dating back to the Cretaceous period.

Scatopse notata (Linnaeus, 1758) is a cosmopolitan species. Its larval stages are found in decaying plant and animal material.

Genera

Description

Larva of Coboldia fuscipes Coboldia fuscipes larva.jpg
Larva of Coboldia fuscipes

Adult Scatopsidae are 0.6-5.0 mm long. They can be distinguished from other fly families by their wings and relatively short antennae. [1] The wing has strong veins along the anterior margin while the remaining veins are generally weak, and the fork of vein Cu is at the wing base. [2]

The larvae are dorsoventrally flattened with an exerted head capsule, meaning it cannot be retracted. They have a peripneustic respiratory system. Some taxa have spiracles on protuberances. [3]

Life cycle

Eggs of Scatopsidae are laid on moist substrates in crescent-shaped masses of about 50-300 eggs. Females shortly after laying. The eggs take about 35 days to hatch, though it depends on temperature. [4]

The life cycle take 3–4 weeks to complete in the common species Coboldia fuscipes and S. notata. The adult stage is generally quite short, usually 2-3 or 4–5 days. [4]

Ecology

Adult Scatopsidae live in various habitats, though they are more frequent and diverse in open, fresh and marshy habitats. Some species are known to feed on flowers, especially Apiaceae. [4]

Larvae live in various kinds of decomposing organic matter. Plant matter is preferred by Scatopsini and Swammerdamellini, with Ectaetia living in rotten wood, Arthria and Rhexoza under bark of decaying trees, and Ectaetia and Holoplagia in tree holes. Various genera are terricolous (living in soil), with Aspistes in sandy soils, Parascatopse in saltings, some Psectrosciarinae and Rhegmoclematini in wet/marshy soils, and Apiloscatopse in forest leaf litter. Fungi are used by Coboldia fuscipes as well as species of Scatopse and Apiloscatopse. Various genera including Scatopse, Coboldia, Cookella and Anapausis live in dung. Animal matter such as carrion is used by Scatopse and Coboldia. A few species of Colobostema and Holoplagia are myrmecophilous (associated with ants), and presumably feed on debris in ant nests. There are even some Scatopsinae which are aquatic, living in forest springs and presumably feeding on waterlogged dead leaves. [4]

Larvae of C. fuscipes and S. notata have also been reported from the waste of canneries and wineries. [5]

Behaviour

Scatopsidae may form swarms of up to thousands of individuals, sometimes including several species at once, possibly for reproduction. Scatopsidae mate in a tail-tail position and mating can last for a long time. One species, Thripomorpha halterata, has been observed doing rhythmic wing movements while swarming, which may be a courtship behaviour. [4]

Name

The family name Scatopsidae literally translates to "looks like feces" (from Greek skat "dung" and opsi "appearance"). It is derived from the genus Scatopse, which has been frequently misspelled as Scatops.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crane fly</span> Superfamily of flies

A crane fly is any member of the dipteran superfamily Tipuloidea, which contains the living families Cylindrotomidae, Limoniidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae, as well as several extinct families. "Winter crane flies", members of the family Trichoceridae, are sufficiently different from the typical crane flies of Tipuloidea to be excluded from the superfamily Tipuloidea, and are placed as their sister group within Tipulomorpha.

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

The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects.

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

The family Sciomyzidae belongs to the typical flies (Brachycera) of the order Diptera. They are commonly called marsh flies, and in some cases snail-killing flies due to the food of their larvae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flesh fly</span> Family of insects

Sarcophagidae are a family of flies commonly known as flesh flies. They differ from most flies in that they are ovoviviparous, opportunistically depositing hatched or hatching maggots instead of eggs on carrion, dung, decaying material, or open wounds of mammals, hence their common name. Some flesh fly larvae are internal parasites of other insects such as Orthoptera, and some, in particular the Miltogramminae, are kleptoparasites of solitary Hymenoptera. The adults mostly feed on fluids from animal bodies, nectar, sweet foods, fluids from animal waste and other organic substances. Juveniles need protein to develop and may be laid on carrion, dung or sweet plant foods.

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

The Sepsidae are a family of flies, commonly called the black scavenger flies or ensign flies. Over 300 species are described worldwide. They are usually found around dung or decaying plant and animal material. Many species resemble ants, having a "waist" and glossy black body. Many Sepsidae have a curious wing-waving habit made more apparent by dark patches at the wing end.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nematocera</span> Suborder of flies

The Nematocera are a suborder of elongated flies with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic larvae. This group is paraphyletic and contains all flies except for species from suborder Brachycera, which includes more commonly known species such as the housefly or the common fruit fly. The equivalent clade to Nematocera is the whole Diptera, with Brachycera as a subclade. Families in Nematocera include mosquitoes, crane flies, gnats, black flies, and multiple families commonly known as midges. The Nematocera typically have fairly long, fine, finely-jointed antennae. In many species, such as most mosquitoes, the female antennae are more or less threadlike, but the males have spectacularly plumose antennae.

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

Psychodidae, also called drain flies, sink flies, filter flies, sewer flies, or sewer gnats, is a family of true flies. Some genera have short, hairy bodies and wings, giving them a "furry" moth-like appearance, hence one of their common names, moth flies. Members of the sub-family Phlebotominae, which are hematophagous, may be called sand flies in some countries, although this term is also used for other unrelated flies.

<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">Dolichopodidae</span> Family of flies

Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 8,000 described species in about 250 genera. The genus Dolichopus is the most speciose, with some 600 species.

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

Empididae is a family of flies with over 3,000 described species occurring worldwide in all the biogeographic realms but the majority are found in the Holarctic. They are mainly predatory flies like most of their relatives in the Empidoidea, and exhibit a wide range of forms but are generally small to medium-sized, non-metallic and rather bristly.

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

The Lonchaeidae are a family of acalyptrate flies commonly known as lance flies. 610 described species are placed into 10 genera. These are generally small but robustly built flies with blue-black or metallic bodies. They are found, most commonly in wooded areas, throughout the world with the exception of polar regions and New Zealand. Details of the distribution of genera and species by biogeographic realm are included in the World Catalogue of the family Lonchaeidae

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

Bibionidae is a family of flies (Diptera) containing approximately 650–700 species worldwide. Adults are nectar feeders and emerge in numbers in spring. Because of the likelihood of adult flies being found in copula, they have earned colloquial names such as "love bugs" or "honeymoon flies".

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

Platypezidae is a family of true flies of the superfamily Platypezoidea. The more than 250 species are found worldwide primarily in woodland habitats. A common name is flat-footed flies, but this is also used for the closely related Opetiidae which were formerly included in the Platypezidae.

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

The Pyrgotidae are an unusual family of flies (Diptera), one of only two families of Cyclorrhapha that lack ocelli. Most species are "picture-winged", as is typical among the Tephritoidea, but unlike other tephritoids, they are endoparasitoids; the females pursue scarab beetles in flight, laying an egg on the beetle's back under the elytra where the beetle cannot reach it. The egg hatches and the fly larva enters the body cavity of the beetle, feeding and eventually killing the host before pupating. In the United States, some species of Pyrgota and Sphecomyiella can be quite common in areas where their host beetles are abundant. Like their host beetles, these flies are primarily nocturnal, and are often attracted to artificial lights.

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

The Psychodinae are the nominate subfamily of moth flies (Psychodidae), also known as drain flies. Like most of their relatives, they are usually found in damp habitats; some occur in caves. The small larvae are aquatic or semi-terrestrial; the adults are winged and capable of flight. Psychodinae are found worldwide, including some subantarctic islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloropidae</span> Family of insects

The Chloropidae are a family of flies commonly known as frit flies or grass flies. About 2000 described species are in over 160 genera distributed worldwide. These are usually very small flies, yellow or black and appearing shiny due to the virtual absence of any hairs. The majority of the larvae are phytophagous, mainly on grasses, and can be major pests of cereals. However, parasitic and predatory species are known. A few species are kleptoparasites. Some species in the genera Hippelates and Siphunculina are called eye gnats or eye flies for their habit of being attracted to eyes. They feed on lachrymal secretions and other body fluids of various animals, including humans, and are of medical significance.

Colobostema varicorne is a species of "minute black scavenger fly" or "dung midge" in the family Scatopsidae.

<i>Colobostema</i> Genus of flies

Colobostema is a genus of minute black scavenger flies in the family Scatopsidae. There are at least 4 described species in Colobostema.

References

  1. New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Dennis P. Gordon. Christchurch, N.Z.: Canterbury University Press. 2009–2012. p. 329. ISBN   978-1-877257-72-8. OCLC   340800193.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "Family Scatopsidae - Minute Black Scavenger Flies". bugguide.net. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  3. "Diptera | What Bug Is That?". anic.csiro.au. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Haenni, J. P. (1997). "Family Scatopsidae". In Papp, L.; Darvas, B. (eds.). Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera (with special reference to flies of economic importance). Volume 2. Nematocera and Lower Brachycera. Budapest: Science Herald. pp. 255–272.
  5. "Scatopsidae -a/o Catalog". hbs.bishopmuseum.org. Retrieved 2023-02-22.

Further reading

Species descriptions

Fossil record