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Arthropoda: Insecta RHAGIONIDAE (Contact) Please
CLICK on underlined
links to view: Rhagionidae (Leptidae) < Habits>; <Adults> & <Juveniles> or "snipe
flies" includes two groups that have sometimes been assigned to the
families Xylophagidae and Coienomyidae.
They are predaceous in both the adult and larval stages. Adults are consistently predaceous, their
prey being principally adults of other Diptera, and several species have been
reported to develop bloodsucking behavior.
Most are abundant only in very moist habitats, but some occur under
arid conditions. The larvae are
usually predaceous, preying on a variety of insects and smaller animals
(Clausen 1940/62). The two genera, Lampromyia
and Vermileo have been
thoroughly studied in Europe. Vermileo vermileo L. was investigated very early in the history of
entomology by DeReaumur (1753) and Degeer (1776). Larvae of this and species of similar behavior are called
"worm lions" to distinguish them from ant lions of the Neuroptera,
with which they have some similarity.
Larvae construct pits in the dust and sand at the bases of cliffs and
other similar locations. These pits
are conically shaped, and the Vermileo
larva lies on its dorsum at the bottom of the pit where it encircles any
suitable prey that falls within reach, dragging it underneath the sand. Ants are one of the principal foods. The behavior of V. comstocki
Wheeler was discussed by Wheeler (1930).
This species inhabits glacial silt and dust in the mountains of
western North America. Eggs are laid
in masses of 50 or more, adhering together in rows in the dust or silt. They hatch in ca. 8 days. Young larvae are gregarious, but later
instars are solitary. The larva lies
in the inverted position in the pit, with its anterior end across the bottom. Prey consists principally of a common ant
species, Formica fusca L. Engle (1929) reported on behavior in Lampromyia sericea
Westw. and Wheeler (1930) on several species of Lampromyia. Larvae
of African L. pallida Macq. differs in behavior from
others of the genus and from Vermileo
by holding its body in a vertical position, with the anterior end coiled at
the bottom of the pit where it awaits its prey. Species of the genus Chrysopilus
that have been studied are quite different in their larval habits and host
preferences from those previously discussed.
Chrysopilus nubeculus Macq. is predaceous in the egg
capsules of Algerian locusts, and C.
ferruginosus Wied. lives in
decaying plant roots or tissues in the East Indies and Philippines. The latter species is a predator on the
larvae of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites
sordidus Germ., and the
sugarcane beetle borer, Rhobdocnemis
obscura Bsd.. it was introduced into several areas in
efforts at biological control.
Froggatt (1928) reported that the eggs were deposited in clusters of
16-60 in the borer holes in slightly decayed stem tissue. Young larvae found in decaying stems that
contained no weevil larvae were believed to be phytophagous. In North America Atherix
variegata Wlk. is an aquatic
species of considerable abundance.
Large egg masses and the remains of many flies have found on the
underside of a Connecticut bridge by Britton (1936). The largest of the masses covered an area
of ca. 50 sq-ft., and was at least one-half inch deep. Eggs hatch in ca. 6 days, and young larvae
drop into water, where they feed on various soft bodied insects and other
organisms. Some species of Symphoromyia also have aquatic larvae
(Clausen 1940/62). = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Key References:
<medvet.ref.htm> <Hexapoda> Bezzi, M. Bezzi, M.
1928. Diptera Brachycera and Athericera of the Fiji
Islands based on material in the British Museum. Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist. London. viii + 220 pp. Kerr, P. H. 2010. Phylogeny and
classification of Rhagionidae, with implications for Tabanomorpha (Diptera:
Brachycera). Zootaxa 2592: 1–133. Leonard, M. D. 1930. A revision of the Dipterous family Rhagionidae
(Leptidae) in the United States and Canada, Memoirs Am. Ent. Soc. 7:1– 181. Lindner, E. 1924–1925. Rhagionidae in Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region 4 (20)
1–49. Malloch, J. R. 1932.
Rhagionidae, Therevidae. British Museum (Natural History). Dept. of
Entomology [eds] Diptera of Patagonia and South Chile, based mainly on material
in the British Museum (Natural History). Part V. Fascicle 3.-Rhagionidae
(Leptidae), Therevidae, Scenopinidae, Mydaidae, Asilidae,
Lonchopteridae, pp. 199–293. Matheson, R. 1950. Medical Entomology. Comstock Publ. Co, Inc. 610 p. Nagatomi, A. & K. Soroida. 1985. The structure of the
mouthparts of the orthorrhaphous Brachycera (Diptera) with special reference
to blood-sucking. Beitr. Ent. 35(2): 263–368,
480. Nagatomi, A. 1982. The genera of Rhagionidae (Diptera). J. Nat. Hist. 16:
31–70. Service, M. 2008.
Medical Entomology For Students.
Cambridge Univ. Press. 289 p Legner, E.
F.
1995. Biological
control of Diptera of medical and veterinary importance. J. Vector Ecology 20(1): 59-120. Legner, E. F. 2000.
Biological control of aquatic Diptera. p. 847-870.
Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera, Vol. 1, Science Herald, Budapest. 978 p. Stuckenberg, B. 1960. Diptera (Brachycera):
Rhagionidae, Keys to genera and species. So.Afr. Anim. Life 7: 216–308. Stuckenberg, B. 1965. The Rhagionidae of
Madagascar (Diptera), Keys to genera and species. Ann.Natal Mus. 18:89–170. |
FURTHER DETAIL = <Entomology>, <Insect Morphology>, <Identification Keys>
[Additional references may be found at: MELVYL
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