Stratiomyidae

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Soldier flies
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous – Recent
Hermetia illucens Black soldier fly edit1.jpg
Hermetia illucens
Soldierfly.jpg
Odontomyia sp.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Brachycera
Infraorder: Stratiomyomorpha
Superfamily: Stratiomyoidea
Family: Stratiomyidae
Latreille, 1802 [1]
Subfamilies

The soldier flies (Stratiomyidae, sometimes misspelled as Stratiomyiidae, from Greek στρατιώτης - soldier; μυια - fly) are a family of flies (historically placed in the now-obsolete group Orthorrhapha). The family contains over 2,700 species in over 380 extant genera worldwide. [2] [3] 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. [4] 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.

The Stratiomyinae are a subfamily that tend to have an affinity to aquatic environments. [4]

Etymology

In English, the Stratiomidi are commonly called soldier flies, in German Waffenfliegen ("armed flies"). In the Italian language, Duméril (1832) used the common names term stratiomidi and mosche armate in the Dizionario delle Scienze Naturali (Dictionary of Natural Sciences). The name might originate from thoracic spines of adults that resemble armor or striped larvae that resemble uniformed soldiers. [5]

Characteristics

These flies range from very small to large, 3 to 20 mm long. They have antennae in three segments, with the terminal segment annulated. Ocelli are present; the lower orbital bristles are absent. The postvertical orbital bristles are absent, as are the vibrissae. As for the mouthparts, the proboscis is short and not piercing; the maxillary palps are mono- or bisegmented. The wings have either a small discal cell, or the discal cell is absent. No subapical cell is seen, and a closed anal cell is present. The costa does not extend around the entire wing. The subcosta reaches the costa independently of vein 1, or joins vein 1 close to where it joins the costa. The leading-edge veins are often markedly stronger than the rest; vein 6 is present and reaches the wing margin, whereas vein 7 is present and does not reach the wing margin. The tibiae are without spurs. [6]

Larvae and pupae

Larvae may be either aquatic or terrestrial. In regards to feeding, they may be saprophagous, mycophagous, or predatory. The larvae are apodous and eucephalic and cylindrical-fusiform, depressed dorsoventrally and distinctly segmented. The size of the mature larva is variable, depending on the species, from less than 1 cm in length up to 5 cm. The head is much narrower than the thorax and partially sunken into it. The integument is strongly sclerotized with the cuticle containing inclusions of calcium carbonate with hexagonal crystals which form a characteristic microsculpture. In aquatic species, the last urite is thin and more or less elongated forming a breathing tube, which ends with a tuft of waterproofing bristles. It is used to draw air from the surface, with the larva remaining submerged.

The pupa develops inside the exuvia of the last larval stage, a feature common to all Stratiomyomorpha. The pupation within the larval exuvia constitutes a case of evolutionary convergence with Cyclorrhapha , in which group is the formation of a true puparium .

Biology

The larvae of Stratiomyidae are characterized by a wide variety of behaviours and habitats. They are mainly scavengers, but aquatic species also feed on algae. Less frequently, they may be predators or herbivores. The aquatic larvae are sometimes characterized by particularly specific habitat requirements. For example, several species colonize rocks covered by a thin layer of water (hygropetric); others are found in brackish water, and some in thermal springs. In general, though, Stratiomyidae larvae colonize stagnant waters or rivers near the shores, seeking the richest vegetation, algae, and debris.

Terrestrial larvae are found in organic substrates: in decomposing vegetable matter and animal excreta, in moist soils and litter, under the bark of trees, etc. Inopus rubriceps (Macquart), the sugarcane soldier fly, is a pest: the larvae attack the roots of sugarcane in Australia.

Adults visit flowers to feed on the sugar-containing nectar, or else do not feed at all, dedicating their short lives to reproduction. Unlike other dipterous scavengers, adults of Stratiomyidae do not have relationships with the growth substrate of the larvae, except for oviposition.

Larval development takes place with a variable number of moults; depending on the species, up to 10 larval stages occur. Particularly well known is the postembryonic development of Hermetia illucens, whose larvae develop through six stages.

Species of this fly may travel along with members of Polybioides raphigastra (a wasp species) through the practice of mimicry.

Systematics

The Stratiomyidae are closely related to the family of Xylomyidae, with which they share 10 synapomorphies, and they form a monophyletic clade with the family of Pantophthalmidae with which they share 5 synapomorphies.[ citation needed ]

 Stratiomyomorpha  

 Stratiomyidae

 Xylomyidae

 Pantophthalmidae

Related Research Articles

<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">Fanniidae</span> Family of flies

The Fanniidae are a small group of true flies largely confined to the Holarctic and temperate Neotropical realms; there are 11 Afrotropical species, 29 Oriental, and 14 Australasian.

<i>Hermetia illucens</i> Common and widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae

Hermetia illucens, the black soldier fly, is a common and widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae. Since the late 20th century, H. illucens has increasingly been gaining attention because of its usefulness for recycling organic waste and generating animal feed.

<i>Stratiomys chamaeleon</i> Species of fly

Stratiomys chamaeleon, the clubbed general, is a European species of soldier fly.

<i>Actina chalybea</i> Species of fly

Actina chalybea is a species of 'soldier flies' belonging to the family Stratiomyidae subfamily Beridinae.

<i>Chloromyia formosa</i> Species of fly

Chloromyia formosa is a species of soldier flies belonging to the family Stratiomyidae. Another name for it is Broad centurion.

<i>Stratiomys</i> Genus of flies

Stratiomys is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratiomyini</span> Tribe of flies

Stratiomyini is a tribe of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<i>Zabrachia</i> Genus of flies

Zabrachia is a genus of soldier flies in the family Stratiomyidae. Adults can be distinguished from other Pachygastrinae by the fused R4 and R5 wing veins. Females have been collected during oviposition into pine wood, and larvae are known to live under the bark of coniferous trees, including lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir.

<i>Neopachygaster</i> Genus of flies

Neopachygaster is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

<i>Oxycera</i> Genus of flies

Oxycera is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

Oxycera analis, the dark-winged soldier, is a species of soldier fly.

<i>Chorisops nagatomii</i> Species of fly

Chorisops nagatomii, the bright four-spined legionnaire, is a European species of soldier fly.

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

Stratiomyinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

Dipteran morphology differs in some significant ways from the broader morphology of insects. The Diptera is a very large and diverse order of mostly small to medium-sized insects. They have prominent compound eyes on a mobile head, and one pair of functional, membraneous wings, which are attached to a complex mesothorax. The second pair of wings, on the metathorax, are reduced to halteres. The order's fundamental peculiarity is its remarkable specialization in terms of wing shape and the morpho-anatomical adaptation of the thorax – features which lend particular agility to its flying forms. The filiform, stylate or aristate antennae correlate with the Nematocera, Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha taxa respectively. It displays substantial morphological uniformity in lower taxa, especially at the level of genus or species. The configuration of integumental bristles is of fundamental importance in their taxonomy, as is wing venation. It displays a complete metamorphosis, or holometabolous development. The larvae are legless, and have head capsules with mandibulate mouthparts in the Nematocera. The larvae of "higher flies" (Brachycera) are however headless and wormlike, and display only three instars. Pupae are obtect in the Nematocera, or coarcate in Brachycera.

<i>Hermetia</i> Genus of flies

Hermetia is a genus of flies of the family Stratiomyidae.

<i>Sepedon sphegea</i> Species of fly

Sepedon sphegea is a Palearctic species of fly in the family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies. The larva feeds on aquatic snails and as an opportunist on other invertebrates. The habitat of this species includes among many others, pond margins and damp meadows. It has a particular fondness for Iris pseudacorus which grow at the edges of the pond. Adults can be found all year long but the main flight period is from March to October.

<i>Adoxomyia</i> Genus of flies

Adoxomyia is a genus of soldier flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

Wohlfahrtiimonas larvae is a Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic and motile bacterium from the genus of Wohlfahrtiimonas which has been isolated from the gut of the larva Hermetia illucens.

Oxycerina is a genus of flies in the family Stratiomyidae.

References

  1. ↑ Latreille, P.A. (1802). Histoire naturelle, generale et particuliere, des crustaces et des insectes. Tome troisieme. Paris: Dufart. pp. xii + 13-467 + 1 pp. [445].
  2. ↑ "Stratiomyidae".
  3. ↑ Woodley, N. E., 2001. A World Catalog of the Stratiomyidae (Insecta: Diptera). Myia 11: 1-473. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden
  4. 1 2 Woodley, Norman (February 2009). "Family Stratiomyidae". In Gerlach, J. (ed.). The Diptera of the Seychelles Islands. Sofia and Moscow: Pensoft Publishers. pp. 100–106. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Lemke, Noah B.; Dickerson, Amy Jean; Tomberlin, Jeffery K. (January 2023). "No neonates without adults: A review of adult black soldier fly biology, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)". BioEssays. 45 (1): 2200162. doi: 10.1002/bies.202200162 . ISSN   0265-9247.
  6. ↑ For a pictorial atlas explaining these terms, go to http://www.ento.csiro.au/biology/fly/fly.html

Further reading

Literature for world fauna
Literature for Palaearctic fauna
Literature for Afrotropical fauna

Species lists

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