ArticlePDF Available

The Bibionidae (Diptera) of Israel.

Authors:
John Skartveit at NLA University College
John Skartveit
Fini Kaplan
Fini Kaplan
Fini Kaplan
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract

Six species of Bibionidae are aexamined and recorded from Israel and adjacent areas. Bibio amnon and Dilophus clavicornus are described as new. A key to the adults of Israeli Bibionidae is presentetd. All species are illustrated, including male terminalia and fore tibiae for each species. Comments on the ecology of the species are given whenever available. A comment on an apparently erroneous record of Bibio marci (Linnaeus) from Israel is included. Israeli records are given for Bibio hortulanus (L.), Dilophus bispinosus Lundström, Dilophus tridentatus Walker and Dilophus lingens Loew.
Content uploaded by John Skartveit
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by John Skartveit on Dec 16, 2014
Content may be subject to copyright.
Israel Journal of Entomology
Vol. XXX (1996) pp. 71-90
THE BIBIONIDAE (DIPTERA) OF ISRAEL
JOHN SKARTVEIT
1
AND FINI KAPLAN
2
1
Museum of Zoology, University of Bergen, Museplass 3,
N-5007 Bergen, Norway
2
Department of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty for
Life Sciences, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
ABSTRACT
Six species of Bibionidae are examined and recorded from Israel and adjacent areas.
Bibio amnon and Dilophus clavicornus are described as new. A key to the adults of
Israeli Bibionidae is presented. All species are illustrated, including male terminalia and
fore tibiae for each species. Comments on the ecology of the species are given whenever
available. A comment on an apparently erroneous record of Bibio marci (Linnaeus) from
Israel is included.
KEY WORDS: Diptera, Bibionidae, Israel, Bibio amnon n. sp., Dilophus clavicornus n. sp.
INTRODUCTION
Bibionid flies are common in forests, grasslands and agricultural ecosystems throughout the
world. In the Palaearctic region, the dominant genera are Bibio Geoffroy, 1762, with about 70
recognized species, and Dilophus Meigen, 1803, with about 30 recognized species
(Krivosheina, 1986; Skartveit, 1993). Dilophus is most diverse in the Southern Hemisphere
(Harrison, 1990), whereas Bibio is more diverse in the Northern Hemisphere. Bibionid larvae
live gregariously in the soil, feeding mostly on decaying plant material but occasionally
damaging crops (D'Arcy Burt and Blackshaw, 1991). The larvae are most abundant in humid
soils with a large content of organic matter. Adult males can often be observed swarming,
whereas females of most species are frequently encountered in open flowers. The bibionid
fauna of Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean has been dealt with rather sporadically.
Walker (1848) described Dilophus tridentatus from Libya. Steyskal and El-Bialy (1967) listed
five species from Egypt. Haenni (1981) treated the North African Dilophus and later (Haenni,
1985) the bibionid fauna of Saudi Arabia. Bodenheimer (1937) listed two species of Bibio
from Palestine. Freidberg (1988) stated that the Israeli fauna consisted of two Bibio and four
Dilophus species, but only mentioned the name of the most conspicuous species, Bibio
hortulanus (Linnaeus).
The present paper summarizes the knowledge on the Israeli bibionid fauna, presents a key
to all the taxa, and gives detailed descriptions and illustrations of the two newly described
species (one each in Bibio and Dilophus). Other species are compared to the new species. New
records available from neighboring countries are also included.
... Type species: Tipula Duda (1930), Krivosheina (1986), GBIF and the present study]. Krivosheina (1986), Skartveit and Kaplan (1996), GBIF and the present study]. ...
... [Sources: Hermann and Villeneuve (1909), Skartveit and Kaplan (1996) Krivosheina (1986), GBIF and the present study]. ...
... PA: Egypt, Greece, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia. [Sources: Loew (1869), Duda (1930 ), Steyskal and El-Bialy (1967), Krivosheina (1986), Skartveit and Kaplan (1996) (1846), Krivosheina (1986) and Steyskal and El-Bialy (1967)]. ...
View
... The species was described from "Tripoli" (but there is no way to know if this is the capital of Libya or a town in Lebanon), and the type from the junior synonym name D. africanus was caught in Egypt (Luxor). The presence of D. tridentatus in Kuwait is not surprising as the species had already been recorded from countries in the vicinity such as Iraq (near Bagdad) (Hardy, 1956), southwest (Al-Baha Province) and Riyadh Region of Saudi Arabia (Haenni, 1985;El-Hawagry et al., 2019), Israel (Skartveit & Kaplan, 1996) and the United Arab Emirates (Fujeira: Jebel Jibir) (Deeming, 2009). Dilophus tridentatus has also been reported from Tunisia (Lundström, 1913: Plate 17, Fig. 17, under the erroneous identification "Dilophus tenuis ?Meig."), ...
... There are scattered records from all these countries, except for Israel where D. tridentatus is the most common and widespread Dilophus species in the spring, especially common on flowers of Senecio sp. according to Skartveit & Kaplan (1996); this is in accordance with our observations in Kuwait, where numerous specimens were caught on flowers of S. glaucus in addition to Launaea capitata and L. mucronata by the second author (MAJM). The striking elongate snout of both sexes of D. tridentatus allow them to reach deeply in flowers, particularly in the tubular flowers of Asteraceae ( fig. ...
... On the other hand, further faunistic surveys may possibly allow the discovery of other representatives of the family, e.g. Bibio hortulanus (Linnaeus, 1758), recorded from Israel, Lebanon, Syria (Skartveit & Kaplan, 1996) and Iran (Duda, 1930;Alikhani & Arkani, 2016), despite the limiting climatic conditions. ...
Dilophus tridentatus Walker, 1848, first report of family Bibionidae from Kuwait (Diptera)
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2023
Dilophus tridentatus Walker, 1848, is reported for the first time from Kuwait (Ahmadi, Farwaniyah, Hawalli, and Jahra Governorates), representing the first record of family Bibionidae from the country. Distinctive characters for the identification of this species are given and figured.
View
... New record for Greece. Dilophus clavicornus was described from Israel (Skartveit & Kaplan 1996) and has never been recorded since. This is the first report of this species from Europe as a whole, where it appears to be present in the Mediterranean subregion (Haenni, in prep.). ...
... This is more than twice the number of species previously recorded from Greece as a whole, which appears to be seriously understudied in this respect. Of particular interest is the discovery of D. clavicornus which was until now known only from the Near East, more precisely North and Central Israel (Skartveit & Kaplan 1996). This species has in fact a more extended distribution in Southern Europe (Haenni, in prep.). ...
... Dilophus clavicornusSkartveit & Kaplan, 1996: front view of female (photograph Jessica Litman). ...
PARNASSIANA ARCHIVES 5: 35-44 2017 THE BIBIONIDAE (DIPTERA) FROM THE KERKINI AREA (MACEDONIA, NORTHERN GREECE)
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2017
The occurrence of 13 species of Bibionidae is reported from Greece, mainly from the Kerkini area (Macedonia, Northern Greece). Nine of them (
View
... It was an occasional pest during periods of large population sizes, but not in recent decades (D'Arcy Burt & Blackshaw, 1991). This species seems to have a higher tolerance of dry conditions than most other bibionids, e.g. it is the only Bibio species in lowland habitats in Israel (Skartveit & Kaplan, 1996). ...
New records of Bibionidae (Diptera) from Azerbaijan and Georgia
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2022
New records of eight species in the family Bibionidae are presented based on the material collected in Azerbaijan and Georgia in 2019. Six species were recorded for the first time for Transcaucasia, five species for Azerbaijan, and eight species for Georgia. In addition, the first checklist of Transcaucasian bibionids is given.
View
... The exact biology of this species is unknown; however, bibionid larvae live gregariously in the soil, feeding mostly on decaying plant material but occasionally damaging crops (D'Arcy- Burt and Blackshaw 1991). The larvae are most abundant in humid soil with a high organic matter content (Skartveit and Kaplan 1996). ...
On the fly fauna of the central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: new country records from Riyadh Region, with a list of associated fly species and zoogeographical remarks (Insecta: Diptera)
Article
  • Jan 2019
This study presents three genera and 10 species of flies (order: Diptera) as new country records from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The flies were identified from Rawdhat Khorim National Park in Riyadh Region, the central region of KSA. The newly recorded genera are Glabellula (Mythicomyiidae), Phora (Phoridae) and Ceroptera (Sphaeroceridae), and the newly recorded species are Dilophus lingens (Bibionidae), Stichopogon deserti (Asilidae), Glabellula sp. (Mythicomyiidae), Phora sp. (Phoridae), Liriomyza lutea (Agromyzidae), Ceroptera aharonii (Sphaeroceridae), Trixoscelis deemingi, Trixoscelis migueli and Trixoscelis puncticornis (Trixoscelididae), and Physiphora leucotricha (Ulidiidae). Glabellula sp. and Phora sp. have been identified only to the genus level and are listed herein only because this is the first time they have been recorded in KSA, and additional specimens are required for their accurate identification to the species level. Also, this is the first record of Trixoscelis deemingi Woźnica and Trixoscelis migueli Woźnica from the Palaearctic Region. Distribution, diagnoses, remarks on biology and coloured photos are given for the recorded taxa. A list of associated fly species that were previously recorded in KSA and are identified from the study area in the present study is also presented. Zoogeographically, 33% of the identified fly species showed both Afrotropical and Palaearctic affinities, while 17% were of only Palaearctic affinity, and 8% were of only Afrotropical affinity. Elements from other regions were apparently nil. The results support the idea that the central Arabian Desert, which includes the present study area, is a transitional zone between the Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions.
View
... The genus Plecia also occurs in lowland rainforests. Bibionids may be numerous in cultivated areas, particularly in grassy places, but since the larvae are highly susceptible to desiccation they are rare in dry habitats (Skartveit & Kaplan 1996). The family has been recorded at elevations up to 3500 m in Africa, but probably occurs even higher, where suitably humid conditions occur, as they have been found at elevations over 5000 m in the Himalayas (Skartveit 1997: 43). ...
View
New records of Diptera families Anisopodidae, Bibionidae, Dixidae, Ptychopteridae and Scatopsidae from Armenia
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2017
First records of 12 species of the Diptera families: Anisopodidae, Bibionidae, Dixidae, Ptychopteridae, and Scatopsidae from Armenia are presented together with the first checklist of these families from this area. The species richness of the anisopodid fauna in Armenia currently comprises 2 species, the bibionid fauna 3 species, the dixid fauna 3 species and the ptychopterid fauna 2 species. The scatopsid diversity is listed here with 3 species. This constitutes the first record of this family for Armenia and Transcaucasia as a whole.
View
Growth of three species of Bibio (Diptera, Bibionidae) larvae under alpine conditions in Norway
Article
  • Jul 1997
  • PEDOBIOLOGIA
Semivoltine life cycles are described for the larvae of Bibio rufipes and Bibio siebkei at altitudes of 1225-1275 m on Hardangervidda, South Norway. At this altitude the larvae develop through seven instars in two years. The growth pattern of larvae of Bibio pomonae from an altitude of 1310 m is also consistent with a development time of more than one year, although young larvae of this species were not collected. Dry weights of the larvae were measured, and the growth pattern was related to ground temperature. The larval developments of Bibio rufipes and B. siebkei were found to take approximately 1800 degree-days above 0°C. Densities of larvae were estimated from field samples, and circumstantial evidence for a variable life-cycle length is presented and discussed.
View
New and interesting records of Bibionomorpha (Diptera) from the Czech and Slovak Republics
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2015
New records of Anisopodidae, Bibionidae, Cecidomyiidae, Keroplatidae and Mycetophilidae (Diptera) are presented from Muránska planina National Park (Slovakia) and the Czech Republic. The material was obtained mainly in the years 2009-2015 by means of Malaise traps and individual collecting. Three species are new to the Czech Republic, 1 to Bohemia, 3 to Moravia & Silesia and 10 to Slovakia. Several additional rare species are also recorded although they do not represent additions to the local faunas.
View
New records of Bibionidae (Diptera) from Turkey
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2007
Bibio hortulanus (L., 1758) and Dilophus bispinosus Lundström, 1913, are recorded for the first time from Turkey. We also include a record of the latter species from Bulgaria.
View
North African Dilophus Meigen, with description of D. maghrebensis n.sp. (Diptera: Bibionidae)
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 1981
Palaearctic North African Dilophus Meig. are listed and briefly discussed, and a key to the species of the febrilis (L.)-group is given. D. maghrebensis n.sp. from Tunisia is described and figured. D. beckeri Pecina is synonymized with beckeri (Hardy).
View