Fly Family Research Articles

Empowerment of Community Self-Help Groups (KSM) in Maggot Cultivation to Support the Economy in Pudak Village, Muaro Jambi Regency in 2024

This method is considered to provide the greatest benefits and is relatively easy to implement. One of them is by empowering the community through Community Self-Help Groups (KSM) in managing organic waste. Maggots or maggots are the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia Illucens, Stratimydae, Diptera) which is a family of flies, but the size of the BSF, known as the soldier fly, is longer and larger. Even though it is from the fly family, BSF does not transmit bacteria, diseases or even germs to humans. Like maggots, ecologically maggots are useful in the process of decomposing organic materials. Maggots eat vegetable and fruit waste, therefore maggots are very suitable for use in organic waste management. Even though it is made from organic waste, the fertilizer produced does not smell

A newly recognized family Platypezidae Fallén, 1815 (Diptera: Platypezoidea) with genus Lindneromyia Kessel, 1965 in South Korea

Platypezidae, known as the flat-footed flies, is a relatively small-sized fly family comprising 264 species in 19 genera worldwide. The family was newly recognized in South Korea with two species, Lindneromyia argyrogyna and L. kerteszi; the latter one as the very first record from the Palaearctic region. Diagnoses, descriptions and photographs of diagnostic characters are provided based on the examination of the Korean specimens.

Long‐proboscid horseflies (Philoliche: Tabanidae) as pollinators of co‐adapted plants in Africa and Asia

AbstractElongated nectar‐feeding mouthparts have evolved in several fly families, most notably Nemestrinidae, Bombylidae and Tabanidae. Plants pollinated by these “long‐proboscid flies” tend to have relatively specialized pollination systems. In this review, I focus on the blood‐ and nectar‐feeding horsefly genus Philoliche (Tabanidae: Pangoniinae) which includes species that are important pollinators of plants in Africa and, to a lesser extent, in Asia. The nectar‐feeding mouthparts of flower‐visiting Philoliche species range from 5 to 65 mm in length, with considerable intraspecific variation evident in some taxa. Plants pollinated by Philoliche species tend to have corolla tubes (or highly exerted reproductive structures) that match the proboscis dimensions of their pollinators. Some Philoliche species and their nectar host plants show population‐level covariation in proboscis lengths and flower depths that is indicative of co‐adaptation. I summarize existing information on the distribution and morphology of Philoliche species known to pollinate flowers as well as the identity, morphology and nectar properties of plants pollinated by these insects. This survey identifies some Philoliche species as keystone pollinators. Distinct guilds of plants are adapted to different horsefly species in different geographical regions and are generally ecologically reliant on these insects, although some plant species share tabanid and nemestrinid pollinators that are functionally similar on account of convergent evolution of their proboscis dimensions. Lack of information about the larval biology, nectar host plants, fire ecology and dispersal distances of Philoliche species is the biggest challenge for the conservation of these specialized pollinators and the plants that depend on them.

Geometric morphometrics analysis of forensically important Sarcophaga species

Abstract Geometric morphometrics is a method that offers a mathematical description of biological forms based on geometric definitions of their size and shape, enabling the discrimination between species. In this study, we aimed to utilize geometric morphometrics as a valuable tool for identifying Sarcophagidae species, a family of flies that are challenging to distinguish morphologically. We collected a total of 80 wings (both left and right) from male individuals representing nine species (Sarcophaga africa, S. argyrostoma, S. hirticrus, S. jacobsoni, S. lehmanni, S. melanura, S. pandellei, S. portschinskyi, and S. teretirostris). These wings were removed, mounted on microscope slides, photographed, and digitized using 15 landmarks. The results demonstrated effective differentiation among seven species, representing significant progress in the expedited identification of Sarcophaga species. Due to its speed, affordability, and user-friendly nature, the wing landmark-based geometric morphometrics, when combined with taxonomy, can enhance the robustness of Sarcophagidae analyses and prove useful for discriminating flesh flies in forensic contexts.

Molecular differentiation analysis of ten putative species of Fannia (Diptera: Fanniidae) collected in carrion-baited traps from Colombia.

The genus Fannia is the most representative of the Fannidae family of true flies with worldwide distribution. Some species are attracted to decomposing materials and live vertebrate animals, which makes them important in forensics, medical and veterinary fields. However, identifying Fannia species can be difficult due to the high similarity in the external morphology of females and limited descriptions and morphological keys. Herein, molecular markers could provide a complementary tool for species identification. However, molecular identification has still limited application since databases contain few data for neotropical species of Fannia. This study assessed the potential of two molecular markers, the COI-3' region and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), to differentiate 10 putative species of the genus Fannia from Colombia using distance-based and tree-based approaches. The partial ITS2 and/or COI-3' regions allowed molecular diagnosis of six species, while pairs of species Fannia colazorrensis + F. dodgei and F. laclara + F. aburrae are conflicting. Although these results might suggest that conflicting pair species are conspecific, consistent morphological differences between males do not support this hypothesis. The lack of differentiation at the nuclear and mitochondrial molecular markers for the conflicting species may be due to incomplete evolutionary lineage separation, hybridization, or introgression events. In addition, sexual selection on male morphological traits before species-specific differences in molecular markers emerge may partially explain the results. Our study provides a valuable dataset to identify and confirm some Fannia species molecularly. Further, they could be used to associate females and immature stages with their conspecifics as a baseline to deep into their biology, ecology, distribution and potential applications in forensic and medico-veterinary entomology.

A new fossil genus near Meghyperus Loew from Baltic amber (Diptera: Atelestidae)

The Atelestidae are a small family of empidoid flies (Diptera: Empidoidea), including 15 recent species in five genera (Sinclair & Grimaldi, 2020). In contrast, they have a rather high fossil diversity (Table 1), with 28 species in nine genera. These fossil taxa are almost entirely from Cretaceous ambers (Canadian, Lebanese, Myanmar, New Jersey, Spanish), and prior to this study only a single described species from Baltic amber (Nemedina eocenica Sinclair & Arnaud, 2001) was known. The extant species are widespread, with two Afrotropical, three Neotropical, two Nearctic and eight Palaearctic species. This family is recognized within the Empidoidea on the basis of their well-developed anal lobe of the wing, distinct alula, R4+5 unforked, M1+2 usually unforked or forked beyond cell dm, cell cua long, at least as long as cell bm, female tergite 10 absent, male terminalia symmetrical and unrotated, with elongate gonocoxal apodemes and shortened hypandrium (Chvála, 1983; Grimaldi & Cumming, 1999; Sinclair & Cumming, 2006).

Evaluation of mechanical transmission of Enterococcus spp., resistant to antibiotics, having flies as vectors of dissemination

The objective of this work was to evaluate the mechanical transmission of Enterococcus spp., resistant to antibiotics, using flies as dissemination vectors. In this work, 50 flies were captured, 25 in “La Llanada” community, in Cumaná and 25 others in the surroundings of the “Juan Otaola Rogliani” outpatient clinic and the central cemetery of Carúpano. The main families of flies captured in the state of Sucre were Muscidae, Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae. The flies captured in Cumaná had fewer strains of Enterococcus spp., on the surface than those from Carúpano, while those from Cumaná were more colonized in the intestine than those from Carúpano. A total of 14 strains of Enterococcus were isolated, among which were E. faecium (6%), E. gallinarum (36%) and E. casseliflavus (58%). The susceptibility profile of E. casseliflavus strains is resistance to linezolid, tetracycline, erythromycin, rifampicin and intermediate susceptibility to fluoroquinolones; E. gallinarum strains were sensitive to rifampicin and tetracycline, and resistant to the other antibiotics. The only strain of E. faecium isolated in Carúpano, presented low level of resistance to vancomycin. It did not amplify for the glycopeptide resistance ligase genes vanA, vanB, vanD, vanE, or vanG. Antibiotypes IA and IV of E. caseliflavus were detected in both Carúpano and Cumaná.

Bartonella in bat flies from the Egyptian fruit bat in the Middle East

In the family of fruit bats, Pteropodidae Gray, 1821, as in the third most diverse group of bats (Chiroptera), the bacterium of the genus Bartonella was detected in several species as well as in a few species of their insect ectoparasites in some tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Old World. The Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus (Geoffroy, 1810), is one of the most widespread fruit bats, occurring between South Africa, Senegal, and Pakistan. In this bat species, Candidatus Bartonella rousetti has been detected in three African populations in Nigeria, Kenya, and Zambia. This fruit bat, however, also occurs in the Palaearctic, an area isolating the species geographically and phylogenetically from the Afrotropical part of its distribution range. We screened the blood-sucking bat flies (family Nycteribiidae) from R. aegyptiacus for the presence of the Bartonella bacteria. A rich material of bat fly Eucampsipoda aegyptia (Macquart, 1850), a monoxenous ectoparasite of the Egyptian fruit bats, was collected at 26 localities in seven countries (Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen) of the Middle East in 2007–2013. The DNA isolates from the bat flies were subjected to a three-marker (gltA, ssrA, and intergenic spacer region, ITS) multilocus sequence analysis. Based on the amplification of the fragment of ssrA gene by a real-time PCR, 65 E. aegyptia samples from 19 localities in all seven countries were positive for the bacteria. One to five Bartonella-positive individuals of E. aegyptia were collected per one individual of R. aegyptiacus. An analysis of the ITS and gltA genes indicated the presence of an uncultured Bartonella sp., belonging to the Cand. B. rousetti genogroup, identified from populations of the Egyptian fruit bat in Africa. These results support the hypothesis that Bartonella’s diversity corresponds to its host’s diversity (and phylogenetic structure). Specific lineages of pathogens are present in specific phylogenetic groups of bats.

Scalp myiasis associated with soft tissue sarcoma lesion: a case report and review of relevant literature

BackgroundSarcophagidae is one of the main fly families that is attracted to open wounds, ulcers, lesions, and other injuries for depositing their larvae. The presence of larvae of flies in human tissues makes myiasis. Myiasis on the scalp could be more frightening in comparison with myiasis on the other parts of the body. It is a rare myiasis case that shows the ability of myiasis agents to attack various parts of the body. On the other hand, reporting of myiasis cases by Sarcophagidae larvae is not common due to difficulties in their identification. This study aimed to emphasize the importance of Sarcohagidae larvae in producing myiasis by describing the first case of soft tissue sarcoma infestation and provides a review of human myiasis by larvae of the Sarcophagidae family during 2010–2023 and also a review of wound myiasis cases associated with malignancy during 2000–2023.Case presentationA case of sarcoma cancer myiasis is reported on the scalp of a 43-year-old man who referred to one of Tehran’s hospitals for surgical treatment of cancer. Before surgery, insect larvae were observed in the area of ​​sarcoma. The larvae were isolated, examined morphologically, and identified as Sarcophaga spp.ConclusionsMyiasis has been considered as a neglected disease. Publishing of myiasis cases could be useful to alert health policy-makers about its danger and appearance in the community. It is not usual but can be expected even on the scalp of the human head. Exact daily supervision and dressing of the wound could be recommended to prevent cutaneous myiasis.

Some winter active flies from snow and caves of Vârghiș, Romania

This paper attempts to fill the gaps in knowledge about the biodiversity of some winter-active fly families from snowfields and caves in Vârghiș, Romania. A total of 15 fly species were recorded from caves and 9 species from snowfields. Exechiopsis (Exechiopsis) pseudindecisa Lastovka et Matile, 1974 and Rymosia placida Winnertz, 1863 from caves and Mycetophila mitis (Johannsen, 1912) (all Mycetophilidae) from snow represent the first records for Romania. Habitus photographs of these three species are provided.

The first Early Cretaceous representative of the fly family Tipulidae from the lower Barremian dysodiles of Lebanon (Diptera).

Leptotarsus reyi sp. nov., first representative of the family Tipulidae from the Lower Cretaceous of Lebanon, is characterised, described and illustrated from the Early Barremian dysodile of Jdeidet Bkassine, South Lebanon.

Ein neuer Nachweis der regional seltenen Kugelfliege Acrocera orbiculus (Fabricius, 1787) (Dipt. Acroceridae) in Schleswig-Holstein

A record of the spider fly Acrocera orbiculus in 2022, a species rarely found in Schleswig-Holstein, is described. In addition to the circumstances of the observation and the physique of the caught specimen, the special biology and distribution of the species and family of spider flies are discussed.

Оңтүстік-Шығыс Қазақстанның Нағыз шыбындары (Diptera, Muscidae)

The article presents the results of the author’s research conducted in May-June 2023 in the Ileysky Alatau (Kargaly Gorge, Alma-Arasan Gorge, Malaya Almatinka Gorge, Medeu Gorge, Karagaily gorge, Almaty region, Karasay district, Kamenka and Kemertogan villages), in Kungei Alatau in the Zhamanbulak gorges and Karabulak. The purpose of the study is to study the fauna, biology, ecology and distribution of the family of true flies (Muscidae) of Southeastern Kazakhstan. Basically, the collection of materials was carried out by collecting from cattle pastures, their barnyard, places of concentration, feces, and other decomposing semi-liquid media with tweezers, manually, using an entomological net. As a result of the study, 7 species belonging to the family of true flies (Muscidae) were identified: 4 species from the genus Musca and 1 species from the remaining 3 genera (Muscina, Stomoxys, Lyperosia).

Taxonomic Morphology of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

Ceratopogononidae is a family of small nematocerous flies ranging approximately 1 to 3mm in length. Ceratopogonidae which was previously categorised as a subfamily of Chironomidae is distinguised by the presence of its biting mouthparts. Ceratopogonids commonly known as biting midges are the vectors of numerous pathogens such as viruses, protozoans and nematodes. Hence its transmission has a great veterinary and medical importance. This family is divided into four subfamilies: Leptoconopinae, Forcipomyiinae, Dasyhilinae and Ceratopogoninae. The flies were collected with the help of aspirator, Diptera net and UV light trap. The collected specimens were preserved in the 70% ethanol and later dissected out with the help of Digital Motic Dissecting Binocular. Ceratopogonidae include widely diversified morphotaxanomic character describing various subgroups. This variable character which include colour pattern, sizes of the body, proportions of various morphological parts are not very reliable for taxonomic identification. The study found that the morphotaxanomic feature like external genitalia of male and female, armature and arrangement of wing venation are much more stable. There are several puzzling problems in the determination of disputed species, can be resolved on the basis of taxonomic characters of male and female genitalia. The present paper will resolve the problem related to plethora of taxonomic character with special reference to biting midges.

Forensic entomology as an advanced tool in crime investigation

The use of research on insects and other arthropods in court proceedings is known as forensic entomology. When forensic insects are discovered on a human body or at the crime scenes, their biodiversity, biology, ecology, and behavior can reveal details about the period since death and occasionally even the reason of the death. The forensic insects have been utilized in criminal investigations from decades, they have only recently become a very well-known and separate field in forensic investigations. Knowledge of local insect assemblages and population dynamics is crucial in medico-legal entomology for a successful criminal investigation when monitoring and analyzing insects on a corpse. Forensic entomology comprises three subspecialties, namely urban, stored goods, and medico-legal. The insects that colonize corpses provide valuable insights into the decomposition process. In cases where traditional methods for determining the time since death are limited, Calliphoridae, a family of flies, provides crucial evidence. Two well-established approaches for estimating the post-mortem interval rely on the development of maggots and the succession patterns of insect species. Forensic entomology has gained significant popularity among criminal investigators and forensic entomologists, leading to the emergence of various related fields.

Passively crowdsourcing images online for measuring broad-scale fly (Diptera) floral interactions and biodiversity

Flies (Diptera) represent one of the largest and most important groups of pollinators on the planet; however, little is known about the interactions between flies and flowers compared to well-known pollinators, such as bees. Understanding pollinator assemblages is key to conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services, but monitoring Diptera is time and cost intensive. Using photographs of blooming flowers taken by photographers worldwide and uploaded on internet repositories, we built a dataset of 1,275 images of fly-flower visitations and extracted fly and flower taxonomic information, flower characteristics (shape and color), and fly activity (pollen carrying and foraging). The resulting dataset shows taxonomic and other biases but can still provide an initial overview of factors that affect pollination by Diptera. We identified 22 families of flies, with blow flies (Family Calliphoridae) most represented (29%) and 63 families of flowers, with Asteraceae (42%) and Apiaceae (21%) as the most common. Using logistic regression, we found that the likelihood of flies carrying pollen was determined by the interaction between flower color and shape: pollen-carrying was more likely when elongate cluster flowers were green-yellow. Fly foraging on flowers was determined by flower color: flies were more likely to feed on green-yellow and white flowers. Overall, Syrphidae flies were less likely to forage for nectar than non-Syrphidae, but were more likely to carry pollen. While biases exist in crowdsourced data, we show that data from photographs collected through citizen science offers potentially valuable information for monitoring pollinator-flower interactions and augment our understanding of pollinator ecology in an era of global insect declines.

Wide Range of Brachyceran Fly Taxa Attracted to Synthetic and Semi-Synthetic Generic Noctuid Lures and the Description of New Attractants for Sciomyzidae and Heleomyzidae Families.

During field tests implemented in Transcarpathia (West Ukraine) in 2015, 6501 specimens belonging to 26 Brachyceran fly families were collected with traps baited with generic lures (originally developed for noctuid moths) based on fermenting liquid and floral compounds. Isoamyl alcohol-based baits generally attracted more flies than phenylacetaldehyde-based baits and unbaited controls; however, the phenylacetaldehyde-based traps were the most attractive to the Empididae and Milichiidae families. The isoamyl alcohol-based semisynthetic lure showed significant attractivity to the families of Muscidae, Ulidiidae, Sarcophagidae, Calliphoridae, Sciomyzidae, Heleomyzidae, Drosophilidae, Phoridae and Platystomatidae. Additionally, isoamyl alcohol-based semisynthetic lure is the first reported attractant of the Sciomyzidae family. Since our phenylacetaldehyde-based floral lure was also attractive to Heleomyzidae flies, both types of lures can be seen as the first known attractants of this family.

Recent Evolution of a Maternally Acting Sex-Determining Supergene in a Fly with Single-Sex Broods.

Sex determination is a key developmental process, yet it is remarkably variable across the tree of life. The dipteran family Sciaridae exhibits one of the most unusual sex determination systems in which mothers control offspring sex through selective elimination of paternal X chromosomes. Whereas in some members of the family females produce mixed-sex broods, others such as the dark-winged fungus gnat Bradysia coprophila are monogenic, with females producing single-sex broods. Female-producing females were previously found to be heterozygous for a large X-linked paracentric inversion (X'), which is maternally inherited and absent from male-producing females. Here, we assembled and characterized the X' sequence. As close sequence homology between the X and X' made identification of the inversion challenging, we developed a k-mer-based approach to bin genomic reads before assembly. We confirmed that the inversion spans most of the X' chromosome (∼55 Mb) and encodes ∼3,500 genes. Analysis of the divergence between the inversion and the homologous region of the X revealed that it originated very recently (<0.5 Ma). Surprisingly, we found that the X' is more complex than previously thought and is likely to have undergone multiple rearrangements that have produced regions of varying ages, resembling a supergene composed of evolutionary strata. We found functional degradation of ∼7.3% of genes within the region of recombination suppression, but no evidence of accumulation of repetitive elements. Our findings provide an indication that sex-linked inversions are driving turnover of the strange sex determination system in this family of flies.

Bloodstained flowers and bloodthirsty flies.

This article is a Commentary on Heiduk et al. (2023), 239:1490–1504.

The Robber Flies (Diptera: Asilidae) of Longleaf Pine Habitats on Fort Stewart, Georgia

We inventoried the robber fly (Family Asilidae) fauna of 2 distinct Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) habitat types (mesic pine flatwoods, xeric sandhills) on a large, fire-managed landscape (Fort Stewart) located in the Coastal Plain of southeastern Georgia. We conducted aerial-net and sweep-net surveys at 30 sites on 111 dates from October 2020 to November 2022. We also sampled hardwood and mixed pine–hardwood communities. We collected a total of 380 robber flies comprising 25 genera and 62 species. We recorded 47 species from Longleaf Pine habitats, with 42 species collected from xeric Longleaf Pine sandhills and 20 species from mesic Longleaf Pine flatwoods. Thirty-two species were found in hardwood habitats. Machimus polyphemi, a poorly known obligate commensal of Gopherus polyphemus (Gopher Tortoise) burrows, was found at 5 sites. Two species that we documented from xeric Longleaf Pine sandhills, Machimus blantoni and Efferia slossonae, represent the first state records for Georgia. An Echthodopa cf. formosa population found in mesic pine flatwoods represents a significant range extension. Also, we report Stichopogon abdominalis from Georgia for the first time.