| Lesser dung flies and allies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Limosina silvatica | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Section: | Schizophora |
| Subsection: | Acalyptratae |
| Superfamily: | Sphaeroceroidea |
| Families | |
| |
Sphaeroceroidea is a superfamily of flies. It includes the cosmopolitan families of Sphaeroceridae (small dung flies), Heleomyzidae, and Chyromyidae, as well as a few smaller groups. [1] It has about 2,600 species. [2]
Sphaeroceroids tend to be small flies a few millimetres in length. [3] [4] [5] Each of the families has its own distinguishing traits. For example, Sphaeroceridae have black wings with an interrupted costa, and the first tarsomere of the hind leg is short and thick. [5] Nannodastiidae are even smaller than usual for sphaeroceroids, with adults being 0.70-1.25 mm long, and their legs lack long setae. [6]
Larvae generally live and feed on various kinds of decaying organic matter, including manure, seaweed, fungi, rotting wood, compost and carrion. [3] [4] [5]
Nannodastiidae have a more restricted lifestyle. Adults have usually been found in tropical and subtropical beaches, often in caves or under cliff overhangs. The larvae are unknown, but they may be in the droppings of birds and mammals which are abundant in such habitats. [6]
The taxonomic composition of Sphaeroceroidea has been disputed. In 2007, there was a proposal to combine the families Heleomyzidae and Sphaeroceridae into one family, Heteromyzidae. [7] Other, more recent studies have kept these two families separate. [1] [2]
A 2021 study confirmed that the superfamily is monophyletic. Additionally, it found that Sphaeroceroidea is the sister group to all other Schizophora. [2]
The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this family commonly are called tachinid flies or simply tachinids. As far as is known, they all are protelean parasitoids, or occasionally parasites, of arthropods, usually other insects. The family is known from many habitats in all zoogeographical regions and is especially diverse in South America.
The Acalyptratae or Acalyptrata are a subsection of the Schizophora, which are a section of the order Diptera, the "true flies". In various contexts the Acalyptratae also are referred to informally as the acalyptrate muscoids, or acalyptrates, as opposed to the Calyptratae. All forms of the name refer to the lack of calypters in the members of this subsection of flies. An alternative name, Acalypterae is current, though in minority usage. It was first used by Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart in 1835 for a section of his tribe Muscides; he used it to refer to all acalyptrates plus scathophagids and phorids, but excluding Conopidae.
The Asiloidea comprise a very large superfamily insects in the order Diptera, the true flies. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring worldwide. It includes the family Bombyliidae, the bee flies, which are parasitoids, and the Asilidae, the robber flies, which are predators of other insects.
Sphaeroceridae are a family of true flies in the order Diptera, often called small dung flies, lesser dung flies or lesser corpse flies due to their saprophagous habits. They belong to the typical fly suborder Brachycera as can be seen by their short antennae, and more precisely they are members of the section Schizophora. There are over 1,300 species and about 125 genera accepted as valid today, but new taxa are still being described.
Braulidae, or bee lice, is a family of true flies (Diptera) with seven species in two genera, Braula and Megabraula. They are found in honey bee colonies due to their phoretic, inquiline, and kleptoparasitic relationships with the bees. Similar in appearance but not closely related to keds, these flies are also small, wingless, and occasionally mistaken for mites or lice, hence their common name.
The Tephritoidea are a superfamily of flies. It has over 7,800 species, the majority of them in family Tephritidae.
Nerioidea is a superfamily of Acalyptratae flies.
The Lauxanioidea are a superfamily of flies that includes the two large families, the Lauxaniidae and Chamaemyiidae, and the small family Celyphidae. Generally, they are small to medium, densely populated, coloured flies. The Chamaemyiidae live as parasites on insects. The family Celyphidae look like beetles.
Carnoidea is a superfamily of Acalyptratae flies.
Byrrhoidea is a superfamily of beetles belonging to Elateriformia that includes several families which are either aquatic or associated with a semi-aquatic habitat. Other than the superfamily Hydrophiloidea, most of the remaining Polyphagan beetles which are aquatic are in this superfamily.
The Heleomyzidae is a small family of true flies in the insect order Diptera. Over 740 described species of Heleomyzidae occur in about 76 genera distributed throughout the world.
The Brachyceran infraorder Tabanomorpha is a small group that consists primarily of two large families, the Tabanidae and Rhagionidae, and an assortment of very small affiliated families, most of which have been included within the Rhagionidae.
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.
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, generally similar to black flies (Simuliidae), but usually lacking the humped thorax characteristic of that family.
Carnidae, also known as bird flies or filth flies, is a family of flies (Diptera). There are 6 genera, containing about 93 species worldwide.
Chyromyidae are small to very small cyclorrhaphous, acalyptrate flies (Diptera) currently classified within the Heleomyzoidea by most authors. The majority have a pale yellow integument and bright iridescent green, red or purple eyes. The family is represented in all continents except Antarctica. There are about 150 named species in this family worldwide. There has been no comprehensive taxonomic study to elucidate the generic limits of species in the family. Currently, only four genera are recognised, but ongoing studies of the African species indicate that there are more.
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.
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.
Suilliinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Heleomyzidae. The two genera in this subfamily were formerly placed the subfamily Heleomyzinae, but they are now considered to make up a subfamily of their own.
Tapeigaster is a genus of medium to large sized flies in the family Heleomyzidae. Eleven species are currently described, all endemic to the temperate regions of southern and eastern Australia.
Data related to Sphaeroceroidea at Wikispecies