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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Acalyptratae" » Carnoidea » Frit Flies (Chloropidae)

Family Chloropidae - Frit Flies

Frit Fly - Chlorops - female Small Red & Yellow Fly - Thaumatomyia rubida Small Fly fly - Tricimba brunnicollis - female Fly Fly black and yellow grass fly Chloropidae, inadvertent fly
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Acalyptratae")
Superfamily Carnoidea
Family Chloropidae (Frit Flies)
Other Common Names
Grass Flies, Stem-miner Flies, Eye Gnats, Pecker Gnats
Explanation of Names
Chloropidae Rondani 1856
Numbers
~280 spp. in ~55 genera in our area(1), close to 3,000 spp. in ~200 genera worldwide(2)
Identification
Ocellar triangle usually large, shiny
Habitat
common in meadows and grassy areas, though found in a variety of habitats
Food
In most spp., larvae feed on grass stems (Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Typhaceae). Some are pests of cereals. Some spp. are saprophages, scavengers, parasites, or predators.
Life Cycle
Most hibernate as larvae; some as adults.
Remarks
Some spp. (the so-called 'eye gnats') are vectors of yaws and pink eye. Some pollinate orchids or Araceae.
Works Cited
1.Manual of Nearctic Diptera Volume 2
Varies for each chapter; edited by J.F. McAlpine, B.V. Petersen, G.E. Shewell, H.J. Teskey, J.R. Vockeroth, D.M. Wood. 1987. Research Branch Agriculture Canada.
2.Thompson F.C., Pape T., Evenhuis N.L. (2013) Systema Dipterorum, Version 1.5
Contributed by Richard Leung on 23 April, 2005 - 3:47pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Graham M, v belov, Arturo Santos
Last updated 30 May, 2023 - 5:20pm

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