Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

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Family Sciomyzidae - Marsh Flies, Snail-killing Flies

Representative Images

Sciomyzidae - Limnia georgiae - male What Fly Is This? - Euthycera flavescens Marsh fly? - Dictya Limnia sp. - Trypetoptera canadensis Marsh Fly - Trypetoptera canadensis Unidentified Fly - Euthycera flavescens Little Bug Saying Hello - Limnia shannoni Sciomyzidae, lateral - Limnia

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Acalyptratae")
Superfamily Sciomyzoidea
Family Sciomyzidae (Marsh Flies, Snail-killing Flies)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

northeastern fauna reviewed in (1)

Explanation of Names

Sciomyzidae Fallén 1820

Numbers

almost 200 spp. in >20 genera in our area(2), all in the nominate subfamily; ~540 spp. in 62 genera total(3)

Size

5‒10 mm

Identification

body yellowish, brownish, or grayish; antennae extend forward noticeably, a distinctive feature; wings often spotted or otherwise marked
northeastern spp., in (1); CA spp. (4); Indiana (3)

Range

throughout NA and the world

Habitat

adults around marshes, lakes, ponds, or wooded areas; larvae are aquatic

Food

larvae parasitize or prey on freshwater or terrestrial molluscs; some prefer snail eggs(5)(6)

Life Cycle

The female scatters eggs in host habitat. The newly hatched larvae fend for themselves.(6)

See Also

Dryomyzidae are similar but have a well-developed clypeus

Works Cited

1.Sciomyzidae of northeastern North America
Schorno S., Marshall S.A., Murphy W.L., Muzzatti M. 2019. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 35: 1-331.
2.Nearctic Diptera (Discover Life's IDnature guide)
3.Comprehensive taxonomic, faunistic, biological, and biogeographic inventory and analysis of the snail-killing flies...of Indiana
Murphy, William L. 2021. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, Vol. 129 (2), p143-265. 123p. .
4.The marsh flies of California: (Diptera, Sciomyzidae)
Fisher T.W., Orth R.E. 1983. Bull. Cal. Insect Survey 24, vii+117 pp.
5.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
6.Hidden Company that Trees Keep: Life from Treetops to Root Tips
James B. Nardi. 2023. Princeton University Press.
Contributed by Richard Leung on 8 October, 2004 - 7:16pm
Additional contributions by Robin McLeod, Bbarnd, Aaron Schusteff, ceiseman, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 1 November, 2023 - 6:44pm

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