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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Orthorrhapha" (Brachycera excluding Aschiza and Schizophora) » Asiloidea » Window Flies (Scenopinidae)

Family Scenopinidae - Window Flies

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Internet References
Metatrichia bulbosa, mating pair - Metatrichia bulbosa - male - female What kind of fly? - Metatrichia bulbosa Looks like what the ant has Looks like what the ant has
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Orthorrhapha" (Brachycera excluding Aschiza and Schizophora))
Superfamily Asiloidea
Family Scenopinidae (Window Flies)
Explanation of Names
WINDOW-FLIES: adults of one species, Scenopinus fenestralis, are commonly found at windows inside buildings
Numbers
139 species in 9 genera in North America listed at nearctica.com
about 420 species in 24 genera worldwide listed at California Dept. of Food and Agriculture
Size
adult rarely greater than 5 mm
Identification
Adult: small and dark or blackish; antennae 3-segmented, not aristate; mouth functional, non-piercing, with very short proboscis; wings with large discal cell, subapical cell, and relatively long closed anal cell; lower calypter much reduced or absent; feet without triple pad; antennae with distinctive sunken sensillae
Range
cosmopolitan
Habitat
various habitats; species diversity greatest in arid regions with dry sandy soil
Season
adults usually found from May to September in North America
Food
most larvae prey on small arthropods in leaf litter and soil
adults take nectar from flowers, and also feed on honeydew; some adults apparently do not feed
Internet References
overview of family and world checklist (Shaun Winterton, Window-Flies of the World, California Dept. of Food and Agriculture)
description of adults and other info (L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz, British Insects: the Families of Diptera, delta-intkey.com)
pinned adult image of Scenopinus fenestralis (Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota)
species information and link to images of Metatrichia bulbosa (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard U., Massachusetts)
common names reference [Window Flies, Windoe Flies] (ITIS)
Contributed by Chuck Entz on 24 December, 2006 - 10:18pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Robin McLeod, Keith Bayless
Last updated 17 May, 2007 - 11:38am

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