|
Family Tephritidae - Fruit Flies
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon (Acalyptratae)
Superfamily Tephritoidea
Family Tephritidae (Fruit Flies)
Other Common Names Picture-winged Flies (not recommended, as being more commonly applied to Ulidiidae/Otitidae) Numbers ca. 300 spp. in 55 genera in our area (1), >360 spp. in 62 genera in the Nearctic Region, ~4,500 spp. in almost 500 genera worldwide (2)
Overview of our fauna (* –taxa not yet in the guide; classification adapted from(2)):
Family Tephritidae
Tribe Adramini Euphranta (subgenus Rhacochlaena)
Tribe Terelliini Chaetorellia, Chaetostomella, Neaspilota (subgenera Footerellia, Neaspilota, Neorellia), Terellia (subgenera Cerajocera, Terellia)
Identification Many species have highly-patterned wings used by males for courtship and may also be defensive. (3)Food Larvae feed on fleshy fruits and vegetables of plants in many families. In the subfamily Tephritinae, most species oviposit in flower heads of various plants (primarily, Asteraceae) and have short, stout larva that live in the ovaries. In the other subfamilies of Tephritidae (as well as in some Tephritinae), there are species that mine or form galls in leaves, stems, and roots. (4)(5)Remarks many spp. are considered commercial pests (5)
Some spp. mimic jumping spiders. The wing-waving apparently deters the approach of jumping spiders, important predators of the flies. Other species have brightly-patterned bodies, and may mimic wasps. (3)
"Spider predation has been intense enough to mold the evolution of prey characteristics: predation by salticids (jumping spiders) has shaped the morphology and behavior of some tephritid flies. Their wing markings resemble the pattern of the legs of jumping spiders; the flies also wave their wings in a fashion that appears to mimic the agonistic behavior of salticids - making them 'proverbial sheep in wolf's clothing' (Greene et al. 1987, Mather & Roitberg 1987)." (D.H. Wise, Spiders in ecological webs) |
|
|
|
