ChapterPDF Available

Key to Diptera families (adults)

  • January 2009
  • In book: A manual of Central American Diptera (pp.95–145)
  • Publisher: CRC Press
Authors:
M. Buck
M. Buck
M. Buck
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Norman E. Woodley at Smithsonian Institution
Norman E. Woodley
Art Borkent at Royal BC Museum
Art Borkent
Thomas Pape at Natural History Museum of Denmark
Thomas Pape
  • Natural History Museum of Denmark
Show all 6 authorsHide
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation
Content uploaded by Norman E. Woodley
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Norman E. Woodley on Feb 20, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
Citation:
Buck, M., Woodley, N.E., Borkent, A., Wood, D.M., Pape, T., Vockeroth, J.R., Michelsen, V., & Marshall, S.A.
2009. Key to Diptera families - adults. Chapter 6, pp. 95-144. In Brown, B.V., Borkent, A., Cumming,
J.M., Wood, D.M., Woodley, N.E., & Zumbado, M.A. (eds.). Manual of Central American Diptera.
Volume 1. NRC Research Press, Ottawa. i-xii + 1-714.
See last page for book title page.
... The hymenopterans were morphologically characterized through the literatures of Goulet and Huber (1993) and Seltmann (2004) by pictorial, interactive and dichotomous keys. Further, the identification of adult dipterans was done through the pictorial, linear and dichotomous taxonomic keys designed by Buck et al. (2009) and Marshall et al. (2017). To estimate the pollinator density, four plots of 1 m 2 area were demarcated in the field and a total number of insect species visiting the eggplant flowers in a span of one minute during four time frames of the day (8.00 h, 11.00 h, 13.00 h and 15.00 h) in demarcated plots were recorded for five consecutive days and the ANOVA was assessed at p < 0.05 significance level and Tukey's-B test was conducted through SPSS software. ...
... by pictorial, interactive and dichotomous keys b For identification of Lepidopterans, the technical bulletin on butterflies of Almora prepared byStanley et al.(2018) was referred c The identification of adult Dipterans was done through the pictorial, linear and dichotomous taxonomic keys designed byBuck et al.(2009) andMarshall et al.(2017) Order of insect floral visitors Insect floral visitors classified up to species level ...
Insect pollinators of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) in the Indian Himalayas and their role in enhancement of fruit quality and yield
Article
Full-text available
Although eggplant is self-fertile and self-compatible crop, it needs assistance of insects for buzz pollination. In the present study, floral biology of “Shyamili” variety was examined and the flowers were classified into three types, wherein, 62.63 ± 5.53% of the flowers were true flowers with long style, followed by rudimentary flowers with short style (24.74 ± 2.32%) and flowers with medium style (12.26 ± 0.97%). The optimum time period for stigma receptivity and pollen germination was recorded between 8.30 and 10.30 h, during which the activity of insect pollinators was at peak. A total of 29 insect species visiting eggplant flowers and the pollination behaviour of three insect pollinators (Bombus haemorrhodalis, Apis cerana indica and Apis mellifera) actively foraging on eggplant flowers was analysed. B. haemorrhodalis spent significantly higher amount of time per flower (34.33 ± 4.54 s), whereas, A. mellifera was swift flyer and visited significantly higher number of flowers per unit time (6.67 ± 1.03). In case of yield-related parameters, the flowers pollinated by interaction of two pollinators (A. c. indica + B. haemorrhodalis) recorded the best quality fruit (fruit length, girth and weight), yield per unit area and per cent yield increase over closed control. Moreover, artificial introduction of insect pollinators shortened the crop cultivation period by reducing the time required for fruit set and final harvest. Further studies are required to utilise both domestic ATED and wild bees simultaneously for commercial eggplant production and ecological engineering of the fields to create a suitable microclimate for survival and reproduction of wild bees.
View
... They are also of medical and veterinary significance since they may result in a variety of different forms of myiasis in people and animals. W. magnifica, a species implicated in myiasis, is one of the members of this family (Sarcophagidae) (Pape 1996;Buck et al. 2009;Papp and Darvas 1997;Chandler 1998). W. magnifica is widespread around the globe, including reported populations in Africa, Asia, and Europe (Hall 2004;Pezzi et al. 2015). ...
Phylogenetic and morphological determination of Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), the myiasis flesh fly, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Article
Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) is a common cause of traumatic myiasis in livestock in Mediterranean countries as well as in Central and Eastern Europe. The current study investigated the utility of external body genitalia and mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA characteristics for identifying this species. W. magnifica was successfully identified morphologically and molecularly based on partial sequences of three DNA fragments, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI), 12S ribosomal DNA (rDNA), and 16S rDNA. A BLAST search for samples containing 12S and 16S rDNA sequences yielded 100 hits, with just one from W. magnifica (accession number: KU578263.1). More W. magnifica sequences were discovered for the mtCOI, including Egyptian isolates of W. magnifica cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequence (accession numbers: MN241041 and MN241043). As a result, we believe that mtCOI performed the best in terms of species identification. Phylogenetic analysis of mtCOI, 12S rDNA and 16S rDNA showed that W. magnifica identified in the current study was most closely related to W. magnifica retrieved from GenBank.
View
... The samples were brought to the Entomology Laboratory of Sylhet Agricultural University and preserved in 70% (v/v) ethanol for further identification and grouping into functional groups (predator, parasitoid, and pests). The preserved samples were placed in Petri dishes and identified to the family level using a microscope, colored photographs in books and published papers for the families Araneae (Levi 2002;Coddington 2005;Hamasaki et al. 2008;Nentwig et al. 2018), Blattodea (Baur et al. 2004;Hristov and Chobanov 2016), Coleoptera (Kurosawa et al. 1998;Lawrence et al. 1999;Choate 2003), Dermaptera (Kočárek 2014;Miles 2015), Diptera (Buck et al. 2009;Sawaby et al. 2018), Hemiptera (Weirauch et al. 2014), Hymenoptera (Shaw and Huddleston 1991;Goulet and Huber 1993), Isoptera (Scheffrahn et al. 2003(Scheffrahn et al. , 2006, Lepidoptera (Dombroskie 2011;Smetacek 2015;Parveen and Khan 2017;Kunte et al. 2020;Sondhi et al. 2020), Mantodea (Rivera 2010), Odonata (Bouchard 2004;Wright and Peterson 1994) and Orthoptera (Smith et al. 2004). Besides, taxonomic features of textbooks were also used for identification (Schell and Latchininsky 2007;Chapman 2013;Zettler et al. 2016). ...
Role of shade trees in conserving beneficial arthropods of biocontrol importance in tea ecosystem
Article
Full-text available
Naturally or artificially created diverse vegetation habitats often promote natural enemies of crop pests. The abundance of natural enemies increases with response to increasing habitat complexity at various spatial scales. Against this backdrop, we assessed the contribution of shade trees to conserve beneficial predatory and parasitoid arthropods at local scale in a subtropical tea agroecosystem in Bangladesh. Arthropods viz., predators and parasitoids were captured using Malaise traps in plots with shade trees and in those without shade trees having three different densities of tea bushes due to naturally created gaps (large-gap, small-gap and control). The number of arthropods captured in each plot corresponded to shade-tree and tea-bush densities, such that arthropod abundance in the shade-tree plot was twice that of the control plot, which had similar tea-bush density but no shade trees. Predators were least abundant in the large-gap plot, which had the lowest tea-bush density and no shade-trees, while 2.4–3.8 folds predators were captured in the control and shade-tree plots. There was a negative correlation between mean light intensity and number of predators in the four plots. Similar trends were observed for parasitoids. Relative abundance of predatory Staphylinidae was more than twice in the shade-tree and small-gap plots compared to control and large-gap plots. Relative abundance of parasitoid Ichneumonidae was ranked as small-gap > shade-tree > control > large-gap plots. Our results suggested that shade trees may help conserve and promote beneficial arthropods such as predators and parasitoids in tea agroecosystems.
View
... Insects are one of the largest and most diverse animal groups on the planet with an estimated 5.5 million species, yet only 20% are described (Stork, 2018) and many are disappearing faster than they can be identified (Costello et al., 2013), making it difficult to assess biodiversity. Once an insect is collected, a taxonomist will identify the insect to its lowest taxonomic level possible based on existing morphological character keys (Buck et al., 2009). Traditionally, taxonomists use identification keys describing physical characters to identify a given specimen. ...
Classifying the unknown: Insect identification with deep hierarchical Bayesian learning
Article
Full-text available
Classifying insect species involves a tedious process of identifying distinctive morphological insect characters by taxonomic experts. Machine learning can harness the power of computers to potentially create an accurate and efficient method for performing this task at scale, given that its analytical processing can be more sensitive to subtle physical differences in insects, which experts may not perceive. However, existing machine learning methods are designed to only classify insect samples into described species, thus failing to identify samples from undescribed species. We propose a novel deep hierarchical Bayesian model for insect classification, given the taxonomic hierarchy inherent in insects. This model can classify samples of both described and undescribed species; described samples are assigned a species while undescribed samples are assigned a genus, which is a pivotal advancement over just identifying them as outliers. We demonstrated this proof of concept on a new database containing paired insect image and DNA barcode data from four insect orders, including 1040 species, which far exceeds the number of species used in existing work. A quarter of the species were excluded from the training set to simulate undescribed species. With the proposed classification framework using combined image and DNA data in the model, species classification accuracy for described species was 96.66% and genus classification accuracy for undescribed species was 81.39%. Including both data sources in the model resulted in significant improvement over including image data only (39.11% accuracy for described species and 35.88% genus accuracy for undescribed species), and modest improvement over including DNA data only (73.39% genus accuracy for undescribed species). Unlike current machine learning methods, the proposed deep hierarchical Bayesian learning approach can simultaneously classify samples of both described and undescribed species, a functionality that could become instrumental in biodiversity monitoring across the globe. This framework can be customized for any taxonomic classification problem for which image and DNA data can be obtained, thus making it relevant for use across all biological kingdoms.
View
... Specimens were brought back to the taxonomy lab at the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia for identification using stereo microscopes. Specimens were identified to species level using keys by Romoser and Stoffolano (1998), Borror et al. (2005), Buck et al. (2009), Choate (2011a), Choate et al. (2011), Choate (2011b) and Orr (2014). At the time of publication, identification of doubtful species without comparison with type specimens and museum collections were denoted as 'unknown sp.' in Table 2. ...
FIRST RECORD OF INSECTS IN PULAU TINGGI, JOHOR, MALAYSIA
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2022
Species assembly of insects in Pulau Tinggi was extensively studied to obtain the first checklist of insect fauna on the island. Samples were collected from forested areas in Pulau Tinggi on three occasions (20-30 April, 1-10 May and 20-30 June 2019). Various sampling methods were used, including pitfall trap, light trap and active collection using sweep net and forceps. The specimens were dried and curated for identification. A total of 41 families from ten orders of insects representing 90 species and morphospecies were identified. Coleoptera was the most dominant order with 14 families, followed by seven families from the order Hemiptera, three from Hymenoptera, four from Orthoptera, three from Odonata, three from Diptera, two from Blattodea, one from Mantodea and one family from order Phasmatodea. This first inventory study has shown that this relatively unexploited island possesses many insect species. Hopefully, this data will assist policymakers and governing bodies, particularly the private landowners and Johor State Government in making conservation management decisions in the future.
View
... Later, every sample was preserved in 70% ethanol and deposited in the facilities of the Multitrophic Interaction Network (INECOL) for further studies. Each sample was identified to family level using taxonomical keys (Buck et al. 2009), and the trophic guilds of the larval stages were also documented Marshall 2012;Courtney et al. 2017) to explore the functional structure of the community. ...
Local Climate Conditions Shape the Seasonal Patterns of the Diptera Community in a Tropical Rainforest of the Americas
Article
Insect life cycles are short-term and therefore sensitive to immediate changes triggered by climate, vegetation structure, or land use management; hence, the insect populations shape the communities and functional relationships in tropical forests. In this study, we hypothesized that seasonal variations of the dipteran families respond in different ways to changes of weather conditions, thereby affecting their population dynamics. In a one-hectare plot, we surveyed the fly community inhabiting the understory of a Neotropical rainforest. Over a yearly cycle, we used three Malaise traps operated continuously for 365 days and recorded a total of 68,465 fly specimens belonging to 48 families of Diptera, 15 of which were most abundant, accounting for 99.2% of all sampled individuals. The results of the trapping frequency indices (TFIs) exhibited significant population fluctuations in 12 of the 15 most abundant families, which were particularly correlated with temperature or precipitation. Based on such variations, we identified four seasonal patterns as follows: (i) Spring-Autumn bimodal pattern (Cecidomyiidae, Sciaridae, Phoridae, Stratiomyidae); (ii) Spring pattern (Mycetophilidae, Dolichopodidae, Ceratopogonidae); (iii) Autumn pattern (Chironomidae, Psychodidae); (iv) Winter pattern (Empididae, Tipulidae, Ditomyiidae). From a functional perspective, we found the prevalence of families with saprophagous larvae, in addition to phytophagous, fungivores, and predacious. Our results suggest a key role played by the Diptera community on structuring the functional clusters, both in terms of taxonomic composition and on seasonal shifts of abundance, thus influencing the dynamic processes of nutrient cycling in the understory.
View
... Based on their taxonomic identity, all adult and immature samples (excluding mites) were assigned to one of the following trophic guilds: scavengers, coprophagous, hematophagous, parasitoids, mycetophagous, herbivores, saprophagous, omnivorous, and predators (Arnett, 1973;White, 1983;Cibrián et al., 1995;Fernández and Sharkey, 2006;Buck et al., 2009). This critical task was performed by a specialist taxonomist from the INECOL, who possesses a deep knowledge of the natural history of the soil arthropod. ...
Prevalence of stochastic processes in the fire-mediated reassemblage of the soil arthropod community of a pine forest
Article
Wildfires are significant disruptors of established communities, but natural fire regimens are essential to sustaining biodiversity in fire-prone ecosystems. Besides plants, soil arthropods are highly affected by wildfires, but their communities are also highly resilient to such catastrophic events. It is known that both stochastic (local extinction, dispersion, and colonization probabilities) and deterministic (environmental and biotic filters) processes take part in the reassembly of biotic communities after wildfires. However, the contribution of stochastic and deterministic processes in reassembling soil arthropod communities after wildfires remains unclear, and it is largely unknown how this is affected by fire severity. This study reports on the trophic guilds, taxa composition, and alpha and beta diversity partitioning of a soil arthropod community over one year, considering unburnt forest and two levels of fire severity in a pine forest in the eastern mountainous region of Mexico. The wildfire had a positive effect on the abundance of saprophagous species, especially in moderate-fire severity sites. Overall, the diversity of the community of soil arthropods has increased over time since the fire. Taxa turnover contributed beyond random expectations to the observed beta diversity, suggesting that stochastic processes predominated in the reassemblage of the soil arthropod community. We conclude that the changes in the alpha and beta diversity of the postfire soil arthropod community were affected by the severity of the wildfire and by the time that had passed since the fire event, showing a capacity for recovery to this type of disturbance.
View
The importance of shrubland and local agroecological practices for pumpkin production in sub-Saharan smallholdings
Article
Full-text available
Land-use and local field management affect pollinators, pest damage and ultimately crop yields. Agroecology is implemented as a sustainable alternative to conventional agricultural practices, but little is known about its potential for pollination and pest management. Sub-Saharan Africa is underrepresented in studies investigating the relative importance of pests and pollinators for crop productivity and how this might be influenced by surrounding landscapes or agroecological practices. In Malawi, we selected 24 smallholder farms differing in landscape-scale shrubland cover, implementation of manual pest removal as an indicator of an agroecological pest management practice, and the number of agroecological soil practices employed at the household level, such as mulching, intercropping and soil conservation tillage. We established pumpkin plots and assessed the abundance and richness of flower visitors and damage of flowers (florivory) caused by pest herbivores on flowers. Using a full-factorial hand pollination and exclusion experiment on each plot, we investigated the relative contribution of pollination and florivory to pumpkin yield. Increasing shrubland cover decreased honeybee abundance but increased the abundance and richness of non-honeybee visitors. Manual removal of herbivores considered to be pests reduced flower visitors, whereas more agroecological soil management practices increased flower visitors. Neither shrubland cover nor agroecological management affected florivory. Pollinator limitation, but not florivory, constrained pumpkin fruit set, and increasing visitor richness decreased the relative differences between hand- and animal-pollinated flowers. We recommend improved protection of shrubland habitats and increasing agroecological soil practices to promote pollinator richness on smallholder farms.
View
Exceptional Larval Morphology of Nine Species of the Anastrepha mucronota Species Group (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2022
Anastrepha is the most diverse and economically important genus of Tephritidae in the American tropics and subtropics. The striking morphology of the third instars of Anastrepha caballeroi Norrbom, Anastrepha crebra Stone, Anastrepha haplacantha Norrbom & Korytkowski, Anastrepha korytkowskii Norrbom, Anastrepha nolazcoae Norrbom & Korytkowski, and three newly discovered and as yet formally unnamed species ( Anastrepha sp. Peru-82, Anastrepha sp. nr. protuberans, and Anastrepha sp. Sur-16), and the more typical morphology of Anastrepha aphelocentema Stone, are described using light and scanning electron microscopy. To contribute to a better understanding of the interspecific and intraspecific variation among species in the mucronota species group and facilitate phylogenetic studies, we integrate molecular and morphological techniques to confirm the identity and describe third instars. Larva-adult associations and the identification of described larvae were confirmed using DNA barcodes. We provide diagnostic characters to distinguish larvae among these nine species of the mucronota group and separate them from those of the 29 other Anastrepha species previously described. We introduce the vertical comb-like processes on the oral margin as a novel character, and the unusual character states, including position and shape of the preoral lobe, and dentate or fringed posterior margins of the oral ridges and accessory plates. Our comparative morphology concurs with most previously inferred phylogenetic relationships within the mucronota group.
View
Efficiency and effectiveness of native bees and honey bees as pollinators of apples in New South Wales orchards
Article
Relatively little is known about regional variation in the native insects that visit and pollinate apples-a pollination-dependent and economically valuable global crop-in Australia. We undertook three studies on Pink Lady apple crops in two regions of Australia to 1) quantify the amount of apple pollen carried on the bodies of insects; 2) evaluate differences in the amount of apple pollen deposited on the stigmas by different insects (pollinator efficiency); 3) experimentally assess fruit set to ascertain baseline pollination (open treatment), maximum pollination (hand pollination treatment), pollination after a single visit by an insect (single visit treatment) and no insect pollination (closed control); and 4) quantify regional contributions to pollination services provided by each taxon by calculating pollinator effectiveness (efficiency * visitation rate). The most common apple flower visitors included introduced honey bees (Apis mellifera), native meliponine, allodapine, and halictine bees, hoverflies, and beetles. Native stingless bee, Tetragonula carbonaria, foragers carried the most loose apple pollen on their bodies, followed by honey bees, but most individual insects (51.6 %) visiting flowers carried no apple pollen at all. Comparisons at higher taxonomic levels showed that all bees (pooled) carried more apple pollen on their bodies than all non-bee taxa (pooled). In addition, when contacting flower stigmas, bees deposited more pollen per visit than non-bees. The most pollen grains per single contact visit were deposited by native Exoneura bees (x‾ = 231.25), but variation was high (s.e. = 179.75). Irrespective of pollinator identity, pollen deposition from a single visit increased with time spent on the flower. However, across species, the amount of loose body pollen did not predict the quantity deposited; in particular, honey and stingless bees carried more pollen but deposited less than halictine (Lasioglossum) and allodapine (Exoneura) bees. Fruit set experiments confirmed that Pink Lady apples require pollination, because closed controls set zero fruits. Fruit set also required repeated pollinator visits, because flowers restricted to a single insect visit rarely set fruit. Pollination deficits were detected in both study regions, wherein open treatments set fewer fruits than hand-pollination treatments. Pollination services were predominantly provided by honey bees (97 %) in one region (Orange), but in a second region (Bilpin), honey bees (60 %) were complemented strongly by wild stingless bees (35 %). Hence, in Bilpin, native bee pollination services may buffer predicted decreases in honey bee populations , should the Varroa mite become established in Australian agro-environments.
View
Taxonomic limits, phylogeny and higher classification of Anthomyzidae (Diptera), with special regard to fossil record
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 1998
Taxonomic limits of the family Anthomyzidae are prescribed. Two fossil genera are affirmed, viz. Protanthomyza Hennig, 1965 (Baltic amber) and Grimalantha gen. n. (type species: G. vulnerata sp. n.) described from Dominican amber. Fourteen extant genera are recognized, including Chamaebosca Speiser, 1903 (= Penquistus Kieffer, 1906 syn. n.) and Apterosepsis Richards, 1962. New diagnoses of the latter two genera and redescriptions of their type species are given and their relationships are discussed. Chamaebosca cursor (Kieffer, 1906) becomes a new combination. The monotypic genus Echidnocephalodes lodes Sabrosky, 1980 is removed from Anthomyzidae, newly diagnosed and its type species E. barbatus (Lamb, 1914) redescribed and a lectotype designated. Echidnocephalodes is considered to be related to Periscelididae and/or Aulacigastridae, particularly to those genera with symmetrical male postabdomen. The inferred phylogeny of the Anthomyzidae, based on cladistic analysis, is presented. The Opomyzidae are confirmed as a sister-group of the Anthomyzidae, while Protanthomyza is found to be the most primi tive anthomyzid genus forming a sister-group to all recent genera plus the fossil Grimalantha gen. n. The monophylies of the latter group of genera, and of the Anthomyzidae as a whole, are demonstrated. The genus Protanthomyza is classified in a new subfamily Protanthomyzinae, and all remaining genera are placed in the subfamily Anthomyzinae Frey, 1921. An annotated world checklist of the family Anthomyzidae is appended.
View
Revision of Homalomitrinae subfam. n. (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae), with the description of a new genus and three new species
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 1998
A new subfamily Homalomitrinae is established for two enigmatic Neotropical genera, Homalomitra Borgeier, 1931 and Sphaeromitra gen.n. which are diagnosed on the basis of newly discovered characters. All available specimens of the group are revised. Two new species of Homalomitra, H. antiqua sp. n. (Costa Rica, Brazil) and H. tenuior sp. n. (female only; Colombia, Ecuador) are described and the remaining species of the genus, H. ecitonis Borgmeier, 1931 (type species, Brazil) and H. albuquerquei Mourgues-Schurter, 1987 (Costa Rica) are redescribed. A key to Homalomitra species is given. Sphaeromitra inepta gen. et sp. n. is described from Peru. Phylogenetic relationships of Homalomitrinae, both its genera and all species included are discussed.
View
Generic classification of the fern flies (Diptera: Teratomyzidae) with a larval description
Article
Full-text available
The seven recognized genera of Teratomyzidae, including the new genera Stepta, Auster, Pous, Camur and Lips, are keyed and described. Vitila is a new subgenus of Teratomyza Malloch. The following five new species are described: Auster pteridii (Australia), Pous manicula (Australia), Camur willii (Brazil), Lips collessi (Australia), Teratomyza (Vitila) undulata (Australia). Stepta latipennis is a new combination for Teratomyza latipennis Malloch. Neogeomyza Séguy, 1938 (Micropachycerina Stuckenberg, 1971, syn.n.) belongs in the Lauxaniidae, not Teratomyzidae. Neogeomyza stenoptera (Stuckenberg, 1971 (from Micropachycerina) is a new combination. The family Teratomyzidae occurs in the Neotropical, Australasian, Oriental and eastern Palaearctic Regions. The third-instar larva and puparium of Auster pteridii, both of which live externally on fronds of Pteridium (Filicales: Dennstaedtiaceae), are described. Adults of many species also occur on fern fronds.
View
A review of the family Nannodastiidae (Diptera)
Article
  • Apr 2001
The two genera and five species currently assigned to the family Nannodastiidae are reviewed. The genera, Azorastia Frey and Nannodastia Hendel, are very similar and closely related, although each was originally described in a different family, Asteiidae and Ephydridae respectively. Adults of both genera are very small, lengths often less than 1 mm, and exhibit many highly derived, often reduced, structures, making their phylogenetic placement enigmatic. Thus, we remain unsure of the family's phylogenetic relationships and placement in acalyptrate classification or even of the group's status as a family. Nannodastia atlantica is newly described (type locality: Belize. Stann Creek District: Glover's Reef (Long Cay)) and is the first record of this genus in the New World.
View
View
A re-evaluation of the genus Colonomyia Colless (Diptera, Sciaroidea), with the description of two new species
Article
  • Jul 2004
The genus Colonomyia Colless contains six species in the Australasian and Neotropical Regions. Several recognized synapomorphies leave no doubt that Colonomyia is a monophyletic group, with the Australasian species more closely related to one another than to the Neotropical species. On arguments derived from the wing venation, Colonomyia is hypothesized to be the sister-group of the genus Ohakunea Edwards, both together representing a lineage distinct from the family-level taxa currently recognized in the Sciaroidea. Colonomyia borea sp. n. from Costa Rica and C. rakelae sp. n. from Papua New Guinea are described. Recognition of these new species extends the distribution of the genus Colonomyia into the tropical zone and the northern hemisphere.
View
A new family and genus of acalypterate flies from the Neotropical Region, with a phylogenetic analysis of Carnoidea family relationships (Diptera, Schizophora)
Article
  The acalypterate family Inbiomyiidae fam.n. (Diptera, Carnoidea) is described for the newly discovered Neotropical genus Inbiomyiagen.n. with its type species I. mcalpineorumsp.n. from Costa Rica. The genus ranges from Guatemala south to French Guiana and Bolivia and includes a total of fourteen undescribed species, ten of which will be described formally in a separate paper. Inbiomyia is distinctive, with characteristic, extremely shortened head with nonfunctional ptilinum and reduced chaetotaxy, shortened first flagellomere with very elongate, dorsoapically inserted arista, proboscis with largely separate labellar lobes that point in different directions, mid tibia lacking apicoventral bristle, unusual fusion of male sternites 5–7, reduced male sternite 8, elongate surstyluslike ventral epandrial lobes, cerci absent in both sexes, extremely truncate female genitalia, and large, extremely flattened eggs. The larva of Inbiomyia and its biology are unknown. Inbiomyia occurs mostly in primary lowland rain forest and often is associated with the decaying foliage of fallen trees. Inbiomyiidae belong in the superfamily Carnoidea. The previously doubtful monophyly of the Carnoidea is accepted tentatively on the basis of newly established synapomorphies of the male genitalia. Family level relationships of the Carnoidea are analysed quantitatively for the first time based on a matrix of fifty-eight morphological characters. The putative sister group relationship of Inbiomyiidae to the monotypic Australasian family Australimyzidae is supported by several synapomorphies, mostly from the male and female postabdomen. Family status for the Australimyzidae is confirmed, rejecting previous claims of a sister group relationship (or synonymy) with the Carnidae. The analysis also leads to revised hypotheses of the relationships of Cryptochetidae and Acartophthalmidae, and the paraphyly of ‘Tethinidae’ with regard to Canacidae, suspected by previous authors, is confirmed.
View
166); frons with fronto-orbital bristles small and hairlike (Fig. 181); face flat to concave
  • ........................ Chloropidae
Propleuron with sharp vertical ridge (similar to Fig. 166); frons with fronto-orbital bristles small and hairlike (Fig. 181); face flat to concave..........................Chloropidae, in part* *Note: Brachypterous species known from South America but not yet recorded from Central America.
Revisión parcial de las Pyrgotidae neotropicales y antárticas, con sinópsis de los géneros y especies (Diptera, Acalyptratae)
  • Jan 1956
  • 1-38
  • M L Aczél
Aczél, M.L. 1956. Revisión parcial de las Pyrgotidae neotropicales y antárticas, con sinópsis de los géneros y especies (Diptera, Acalyptratae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 6: 1–38.
A review of the Rhinophoridae (Diptera) and a revision of the Afrotropical species
  • Jan 1977
  • 1-66
  • R W Crosskey
Crosskey, R.W. 1977. A review of the Rhinophoridae (Diptera) and a revision of the Afrotropical species. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology 36: 1–66.