| Sciaroidea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor, Cecidomyiidae) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Infraorder: | Bibionomorpha |
| Superfamily: | Sciaroidea |
Sciaroidea is a superfamily in the infraorder Bibionomorpha. There are about 16 families and more than 15,000 described species in Sciaroidea. Most of its constituent families are various gnats.
As nematoceran flies, sciaroid adults generally have long segmented antennae, while their larvae have a well-developed head and mouthparts. [1]
Aside from this, sciaroids vary in appearance. For example, Sciaridae adults have each eye extended dorsally to form an "eye bridge", a feature not found in related families. [2] Cecidomyiidae adults have a distinctive reduced wing venation, while their larvae are atypical for nematoceran larvae in having a very small head capsule. [3]
Most fungus gnats (Sciaroidea excluding Cecidomyiidae) live in forests with their larvae occurring in fungi, dead wood and soil. There are some which live in wetlands such as fens. [4] Several genera of Sciaridae and Mycetophilidae may reach high abundances in damp buildings with wet organic matter. [5]
Some species of Sciaridae and Cecidomyiidae are among the rare Diptera that spend their entire lives in soil. These are wingless as adults. [6]
Sciaroid larvae typically feed on fungi but there are some which form plant galls (many Cecidomyiidae) or prey on other invertebrates (Keroplatidae).[ citation needed ]
A 2016 molecular phylogenetic analysis confirmed that Sciaroidea is a monophyletic group and should include both Cecidomyiidae and Ditomyiidae. [7]
These 15 families belong to the superfamily Sciaroidea: [8]
The Bibionomorpha are an infraorder of the suborder Nematocera. One of its constituent families, the Anisopodidae, is the presumed sister taxon to the entire suborder Brachycera. Several of the remaining families in the infraorder are former subfamilies of the Mycetophilidae, which has been recently subdivided. The family Axymyiidae has recently been removed from the Bibionomorpha to its own infraorder Axymyiomorpha.
The Nematocera are a suborder of elongated flies with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic larvae. This group is paraphyletic and contains all flies but species from suborder Brachycera, which includes more commonly known species such as the housefly or the common fruit fly. 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.
Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small insects usually only 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) in length; many are less than 1 mm (0.039 in) long. They are characterised by hairy wings, unusual in the order Diptera, and have long antennae. Some Cecidomyiids are also known for the strange phenomenon of paedogenesis in which the larval stage reproduces without maturing first. In some species, the daughter larvae consume the mother, while in others, reproduction occurs later on in the egg or pupa.
Fungus gnats are small, dark, short-lived gnats, of the families Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae, and Mycetophilidae ; they comprise six of the seven families placed in the superfamily Sciaroidea.
Mycetophilidae is a family of small flies, forming the bulk of those species known as fungus gnats. About 3000 described species are placed in 150 genera, but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher. They are generally found in the damp habitats favoured by their host fungi and sometimes form dense swarms.
The Sciaridae are a family of flies, commonly known as dark-winged fungus gnats. Commonly found in moist environments, they are known to be a pest of mushroom farms and are commonly found in household plant pots. This is one of the least studied of the large Diptera families, probably due to the small size of these insects and the similarity among species.
The Diadocidiidae are a family of flies (Diptera), containing one extant genus with over 20 species and one extinct genus. Diadocidiidae are found worldwide, except in Africa and Antarctica. They are usually considered close to the Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae, and Ditomyiidae, and used to be included in the Mycetophilidae. They are woodland flies, found in shaded places in forests or near streams. The larvae spin silken tubes under bark or in dead logs, and feed on hymenium of Polyporaceae fungi. The average body length for adults is around 2.5–5.6 mm.
Bolitophila is the sole living genus in the Bolitophilidae, a family of Diptera in the superfamily Sciaroidea, with around 40 Palaearctic and about 20 Nearctic species, and three species from the Oriental region (Taiwan). They are small (6–9 mm).
A gnat is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. They can be both biting and non-biting. Most often they fly in large numbers, called clouds. "Gnat" is a loose descriptive category rather than a phylogenetic or other technical term, so there is no scientific consensus on what constitutes a gnat. Some entomologists consider only non-biting flies to be gnats. Certain universities and institutes also distinguish eye gnats: the Smithsonian Institution describes them as "non-biting flies, no bigger than a few grains of salt, ... attracted to fluids secreted by your eyes".
Bolitophila cinerea is a Palearctic species of 'fungus gnat' in the family Bolitophilidae.
Boletina gripha is a Palearctic species of 'fungus gnats' in the family Mycetophilidae. It is found in a wide variety of habitats from wooded streams to wetlands and open moorland. Reared from brown rot of spruce stump, spruce log bearing loose bark and decaying wood of pine. Larvae have been on the surface of decaying wood covered with Resinicium bicolor, from soil in pine forest and from fruiting bodies of Suillus bovinus.
Brevicornu foliatum is a Palearctic species of 'fungus gnat' in the family Mycetophilidae. Members of this genus are found in a wider variety of habitats from wooded streams to wetlands and open moorland. Larvae develop in dead wood and in soil litter, feeding probably on microfungi.
Lygistorrhininae, commonly called long-beaked fungus gnats is a subfamily of flies in the Diptera family Keroplatidae. The groups was long treated as a separate family, but molecular phylogenetic analysis has shown it to belong to Keroplatidae. There are about 7 genera and at least 30 described species in Lygistorrhininae.
Rabdophaga rigidae, the willow beaked-gall midge, is a species of gall midge in the family Cecidomyiidae. It is found across North America. Some sources state that it is also present in parts of eastern Asia including Japan; however, a 2006 study shows that the Asian populations likely represent a separate species: Rabdophaga salicivora.
Symmerus is a genus of fungus gnats and gall midges in the family Ditomyiidae. There are about five described species in Symmerus.
Ditomyia is a genus of fungus gnats in the family Ditomyiidae.
Australosymmerus is a genus of fungus gnats in the family Ditomyiidae.
Rangomaramidae is a family of flies in the infraorder Bibionomorpha. The family, members of which are known as long-winged fungus gnats, was erected in 2002 by Jaschhof and Didham to include five new species of flies in the genus Rangomarama from New Zealand. The family was then expanded to include several other genera from across the world which were formerly classified as Sciaroidea incertae sedis, but preliminary studies show that the broad family is non-monophyletic.
Rangomarama is a genus of fungus gnats in the family Rangomaramidae.
Data related to Sciaroidea at Wikispecies
Media related to Sciaroidea at Wikimedia Commons