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Tephritoidea

(Superfamily)

Overview

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The Tephritoidea are a superfamily of . The following families are included:

The Tachiniscinae, formerly ranked as the family Tachiniscidae, are now included in the Tephritidae.

Photos

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Taxonomy

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The Superfamily Tephritoidea is further organized into finer groupings including:

Families

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Ctenostylidae

The enigmatic fly family Ctenostylidae is a small group of very rare flies formerly included in the family (as the subfamily "Lochmostyliinae"); the principal reason for their inclusion in the Pyrgotidae was the absence of ocelli, a feature originally thought to be a unique defining feature ("autapomorphy") of the Pyrgotidae. Subsequent careful analysis has revealed that this anatomical feature shared with Pyrgotidae may not be indicative of a close relationship, and even the inclusion of Ctenostylidae within the superfamily Tephritoidea was cast into doubt, leaving this as the only family of Acalyptratae presently unassignable to superfamily. [more]

Lonchaeidae

Lonchaeidae is a family of flies commonly known as lance flies. There are about 500 described species in 9 genera. These are generally small but robustly built flies with blue-black or metallic bodies. They are found, mainly in wooded areas, throughout the world with the exception of polar regions and New Zealand. [more]

Pallopteridae

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Piophilidae

Cheese flies are members of the Piophilidae of flies (Diptera), including the members of two now-obsolete families, Neottiophilidae and Thyreophoridae. Most are scavengers in animal products and fungi. The best-known member of the family is Piophila casei. It is a small fly, about four mm (1/6 inch) long, found worldwide. The fly's larva infests cured meats, smoked fish, cheeses, and decaying animals. The larva is about 8 mm (? inch) long and is sometimes called the cheese skipper for its leaping ability - when disturbed, this tiny maggot can hop up to 15 cm (six inches) into the air. Adults are also known as "bacon flies" and their larvae as "bacon skippers", "ham skippers", "cheese maggots", and "cheese hoppers". In Sardinia, Italy the larvae are intentionally introduced into pecorino cheese to produce casu marzu. [more]

Platystomatidae

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Pyrgotidae

Pyrgotidae is an unusual family of flies (), one of only two families of Diptera that lack ocelli. Most species are "picture-winged", as is typical among Tephritoidea, but, unlike other tephritoids they are endoparasitoids; the females pursue scarab beetles in flight, laying an egg on the beetle's back under the elytra where the beetle cannot reach it. The egg hatches and the fly larva enters the body cavity of the beetle, feeding and eventually killing the host before pupating. In the United States, some species of Pyrgota and Sphecomyiella can be quite common in areas where their host beetles (typically the genus Phyllophaga, or "June beetles") are abundant. Like their host beetles, these flies are primarily nocturnal, and are often attracted to artificial lights. [more]

Richardiidae

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Tachiniscidae

The Tachiniscinae are a of the fruit fly family Tephritidae. They are treated by some authorities as a separate family, Tachiniscidae. [more]

Tephritidae

Tephritidae is one of two families referred to as "fruit flies". Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus Drosophila, which is often called the "common fruit fly". Drosophila is, instead, the type genus of the second "fruit fly" family, Drosophilidae. There are nearly 5,000 described species of tephritid fruit fly, categorized in almost 500 genera. Description, recategorization, and genetic analysis are constantly changing the taxonomy of this family. To distinguish them from the Drosophilidae, the Tephritidae are sometimes called peacock flies. [more]

Ulidiidae

The name picture-winged fly is sometimes used in a colloquial sense for various families in the superfamily Tephritoidea that have patterns of bands or spots on the wings, but is more correctly applied solely to the family Ulidiidae (which was formerly known as Otitidae). This is a large and diverse cosmopolitan family, and, as in related families, most species are herbivorous or saprophagous. [more]

At least 826 species and subspecies belong to the Family Ulidiidae.

More info about the Family Ulidiidae may be found here.

References

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Sources

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Last Revised: September 22, 2009
2009/09/22 12:06:07