Chloropidae

Chloropidae
Chloropidae
Possibly Cetema cereris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Brachycera
Infraorder: Muscomorpha
Section: Schizophora
Subsection: Acalyptratae
Superfamily: Carnoidea
Family: Chloropidae
Genera

See List of chloropid genera
Diversity
more than 160 genera

Chloropidae is a family of flies commonly known as frit flies or grass flies. There are approximately 2000 described species in over 160 genera distributed worldwide. These are usually very small flies, yellow or black and appearing shiny due to the virtual absence of any hairs. The majority of the larvae are phytophagous, mainly on grasses, and can be major pests of cereals. However, parasitic and predatory species are known. A few species are kleptoparasites. Some species in the genus Hippelates and Siphunculina (S. funicola being quite well known in Asia) are called eye gnats or eye flies for their habit of being attracted to eyes. They feed on lachrymal secretions and other body fluids of various animals including humans.[1][2]

There are scant records of chloropids from amber deposits, mostly from the Eocene and Oligocene periods although some material may suggest that the group dates back to the Cretaceous or earlier.

Contents

Family characteristics

See [1]

Species Lists

Nearctic

Japan

Literature

Identification

Andersson, H., 1977 Taxonomic and phylogenetic studies on Chloropidae (Diptera) with species reference to Old World genear. Entom. Scand. Suppl. 8: 1-200 Keys most Old World genera.

Becker, T., 1910 Chloropidae. Eine monographische Studie. Archivum Zoologicum Budapest 1:23-174 Keys genera and species of world fauna.

Gallery

See also:

  • Images from Diptera.info [2]
  • Images from BugGuide [3]

External links

Notes

  1. ^ Robert Matheson (2008) Medical Entomology. Read Books. ISBN 1443725404
  2. ^ Uruyakorn Chansang, Mir S. Mulla (2008) Field Evaluation of Repellents and Insecticidal Aerosol Compositions for Repelling and Control of Siphunculina funicola (Diptera: Chloropidae) on Aggregation Sites in Thailand. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 24(2):299-307

References

  • Chinery, Michael Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe 1986 (Reprinted 1991)
  • Fossil Diptera catalog


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