File:
<dolichop.htm> [For educational
purposes only] Glossary <Principal Natural Enemy Groups > <Citations> <Home> |
DIPTERA, Dolichopodidae (Leach 1819) -- <Images>
& <Juveniles> Please
refer also to the following link for details on this group: Dolichopodidae = Link 1 Description & Statistics
The immatures and adults of
Dolichopodidae are predators on other insects. The adults are often found on foliage in shaded areas. Larvae occur in wet or muddy soil, under
bark, in decaying organic matter and in water. Adults of some species are able to skim over the water
surface. The females move quickly and
often have a crab-like manner of locomotion.
Williams (1933) noted that the adults of a few species of Campsicnemus are active on the surface
of water pools in Hawaii and that they feed extensively on the collembolan, Salina maculata Fols. It was
also observed that the adults of Hydrophorus
pacificus V.D. pulled Chironomus larvae out of shallow water
along muddy shores and in marshes. In the genus Medetera, the hosts of which are mainly the larvae, pupae and
adults of bark beetles, M. signaticornis Lw. is predaceous on larvae
and adults of Scolytidae (Hubault 1925).
M. aldrichii Wh. De Leon (1935a) found it to be an important natural
enemy of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus
monticolae Hopk. in western North
America. The eggs are laid beneath
bark scales or in crevices, and young larvae work their way into the inner
bark for immature host stages. They
also feed on dead larvae and various other insects that they find in the
burrows. Pupation occurs in a cell in
the bark, which is lined with a silk-like substance. The larvae of several species are aquatic
and feed on a variety of aquatic animals (Clausen 1940/62). Dolichopodidae is a large,
cosmopolitan family with more than 2,502 species known by 2000. Diagnostic characters include a
3-segmented antenna, usually with a dorsal arista; branches of R-s usually do
not branch further; vein M-2 atrophied or absent; male genitalia complex,
turned under remainder of abdomen.
The body is small, often a bright or dull metallic green. The legs are long, somewhat bristled. In the male the forelegs are may have
tufts of hair. References: Please refer
to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional
references may be found at: MELVYL Library] Becker,
T. 1922. Zool.-Bot. Gess. Wien, Abhandl. 13: 1-394 Cole, F.
R. 1969.
The Flies of Western North America.
Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles. 693 p. Wirth, W. W. & A. Stone. 1956.
Aquatic Insects of California, with Keys to North American Genera and
California Species. R. L. Usinger,
ed. Berkeley,
CA. 508 p. |