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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Aschiza » Flat-footed Flies (Platypezidae)

Family Platypezidae - Flat-footed Flies

Classification · Other Common Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Flat-footed Fly on Stinkhorn Mushroom - Melanderomyia Red-eyed fly Calotarsa - Calotarsa insignis - male Tiny Black Velvet Fly Flat-footed Fly 7009328 fly - Callomyia Tiny Fly - Bertamyia notata - male fungus eater - Paraplatypeza
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon (Aschiza)
Family Platypezidae (Flat-footed Flies)
Other Common Names
Smoke Flies
Numbers
Arnett, p. 883, lists 67 species. (1)
Size
2-5 mm
Identification
Usually black or brown, enlarged hind tarsi.
Range
Much of North America
Habitat
Typically woodlands.
Season
Late summer-fall. Brimley (2) lists collection dates of October for Platypeza in North Carolina. Insects of Cedar Creek (Minnesota) lists dates of August-September for Platypeza and July for Bertamyia.
Food
Adults nay feed on fungi.
Life Cycle
Males sometimes swarm, and females are attracted to these swarms. Some are attracted to smoke. (Do they mistake a column of smoke for a swarm? This seems possible.) Larvae live on fungi.
Remarks
Family name is from platu Greek flat, or plate, plus pez Latin (or Greek?) foot. The "pezidae" means "footed", I suppose.
Print References
Arnett, p. 883 (1)
Brimley, p. 348 (2)
Borror and White, p. 280-281 (3)
Kessel, E. L. 1987. 50. Platypezidae. Manual of Nearct. Dipt. 2:681-688.
Internet References
Insects of Cedar Creek
Works Cited
1.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
By Ross H. Arnett
2.Insects of North Carolina
By C.S. Brimley
3.A Field Guide to Insects
By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson
Contributed by Cotinis on 16 November, 2004 - 8:08am
Additional contributions by Keith Bayless
Last updated 17 February, 2008 - 11:03pm

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