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

Family Platypezidae - Flat-footed Flies

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Range · Season · Food · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited
Platypezidae? - Lindneromyia flavicornis 'Foil Fly' - Bertamyia notata - male Syrpid or dolichopodid or ??? - Callomyia corvina - female Platypeza anthrax? - female Flat-footed Fly - male Fly with unusual leg appendages - Calotarsa - male Lindneromyia flavicornis - female flat-footed fly - Melanderomyia - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Aschiza")
Superfamily Platypezoidea
Family Platypezidae (Flat-footed Flies)
Other Common Names
Smoke Flies
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Genera treated in the Opetiinae in(1) now belong to 2 diff. subfamilies, Melanderomyiinae and Microsaniinae; the Palaearctic genus Opetia is now considered to be a sole member of Opetiidae, thus there is no subfamily Opetiinae in Platypezidae
Explanation of Names
Platypezidae Latreille 1829
see Platypeza
Numbers
4 subfamilies, with ~70 spp. in 17 genera in our area(2) and ~280 spp. in ~30 genera total(3)
Size
Mostly 2-5 mm (Calotarsa 6-10 mm)
Range
Mostly n. hemisphere, incl. much of NA
Season
Late summer-fall
Food
Adults may feed on fungi. Some groups take honeydew from leaves(4)
Remarks
Males sometimes swarm, and females are attracted to these swarms. Some are attracted to smoke. Larvae live on fungi, some genera are associated with stinkhorn mushrooms. The elongated tarsi may be an adaptation for spreading host spores.
Print References
(5)(6)
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.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
3.Order Diptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang Z.-Q. (ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification...
Pape T., Blagoderov V., Mostovski M.B. 2011. Zootaxa 3148: 222–229.
4.The flat-footed flies: (Diptera: Opetiidae and Platypezidae) of Europe
Chandler P.J. 2001. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica 36. Brill Academic Pub. 278 pp.
5.A review of the Platypezidae of Eastern North America
Johnson, C.W. 1923. Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History, 5: 51-58 + plate.
6.A revision of the genera of Platypezidae, with the descriptions of five new genera, and considerations of phylogeny...
Kessel E.L., Maggioncalda E.A. 1968. Wasmann J. Biol. 26: 33-106.
Contributed by Cotinis on 16 November, 2004 - 8:08am
Additional contributions by Keith Bayless, Bbarnd, Aaron Schusteff, v belov
Last updated 30 September, 2017 - 7:26pm

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