| Sciophila fractinervis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Mycetophilidae |
| Genus: | Sciophila |
| Species: | S. fractinervis |
| Binomial name | |
| Sciophila fractinervis Edwards, 1940 | |
Sciophila fractinervis is a species of fungus gnat in the family Mycetophilidae.
Sciophila fractinervis is a tropical species and was originally described in 1940 by Frederick Wallace Edwards using specimens collected by Friedrich 'Fritz' Plaumann from the neighbourhood of Nova Teutonia, Santa Catarina, Brazil. [1] S. fractinervis has been found on cultivated greenhouse plants in the United Kingdom [2] and was recorded by Peter J. Chandler in 2010 on examples of commercially-grown Eustoma grandiflorum from Warwickshire. [3] This species was also recorded on greenhouse examples of Platycerium and Beaucarnea in the Netherlands in 2005. [4] S. fractinervis is considered by RINSE (Registry of non-native species in the Two Seas region countries) as a non-native species in Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. [5]
The larvae of Sciophila fractinervis are brown in colour and have a glossy appearance, due to being enclosed in a mucus tube created from labial glands around the mouth. [2]
The adults have a dark grey head with a yellowish face, a yellowish thorax, brown abdomen and yellow legs. [1] [3] The mouthparts are black. [1] The wings of the male measure 2.5 - 2.7mm and the wings of the female are 2.9 - 3.2mm. [3] [4] Females of the species have shorter antennae than males. [1]
Edwards observed that the macrotrichia (hairs or bristles) on the wings of S. fractinervis are less dense, and therefore more conspicuous than on the comparable species Sciophila ciliata. [1]
Sciophila fractinervis larvae build silky cocoons of webbing either on the basal leaves of their host plant or on the soil underneath. [3] The larvae eat fungus spores which grow upon the webbing to sustain themselves, mainly from saprophytic species of fungus that feed on decaying plant matter. [2] The webbing built by the larvae likely also provides a protective environment against predators as larvae have been observed retreating when the webbing is suddenly vibrated. [2] The leaves of the host plant do not appear to be damaged by the larval activity, at least in cultivated plant examples [2] [3] but the webbing is considered unsightly by commercial plant growers. [2] The larvae take about 7-10 days to pupate and emerge as adults. [3] [2]
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. 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.
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.
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.
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).
Allocotocera is a genus of flies in the family of Mycetophilidae. Two of the species are found in Europe.
Bradysia ismayi is a species of fungus gnat found in the British Isles.
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. 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.
Diadocidia ferruginosa is a Palearctic species of fungus gnat in the family Mycetophilidae. They live as larvae in long dry silken tubes under bark or in rotten wood and probably feed on fungal mycelia or spores. Also associated with Peniophora.
Bradysia ocellaris is a species of fly in the family Sciaridae. It is found in the Palearctic. It has also been introduced to Australia. It feeds on fungi, and larvae can feed on cultivated plants in greenhouses.
Gnoristinae is a subfamily of fungus gnats in the family Mycetophilidae. There are about 6 genera and at least 4 described species in Gnoristinae.
Sciophila is a genus of fungus gnats in the family Mycetophilidae. There are at least 50 described species in Sciophila.
Ectrepesthoneura is a genus of fungus gnats in the family Mycetophilidae. There are more than 20 described species in Ectrepesthoneura.
Probolaeus is a genus of long-beaked fungus gnats in the family Lygistorrhinidae.
Rhipidita is a genus of fungus gnats in the family Ditomyiidae.
Nervijuncta is a genus of fungus gnats in the family Ditomyiidae.
Australosymmerus is a genus of fungus gnats in the family Ditomyiidae.
Allodiopsis is a genus of fungus gnats belonging to the family Mycetophilidae.