Subfamily Sarcophaginae

Classification · Numbers · Identification · Food · Life Cycle · Works Cited

Servaisia - NEW GENUS - Blaesoxipha - female

Sarcophaga pleskei from Alberta - Sarcophaga pleskei - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Diptera (Flies)

No Taxon (Calyptratae)

Superfamily Oestroidea

Family Sarcophagidae (Flesh Flies)

Subfamily Sarcophaginae

Numbers

~2,350 spp. in 100 genera total(1)

Identification

well-defined monophyletic group, but the taxonomy of subordinate taxa is in flux, and there is great inconsistency among sources(2)

Food

small carrion (dead insects, snails, smaller vertebrates); a few species breed in larger carcases and feces; some may develop on decomposing vegetable matter (e.g., melon/tomato pulp); some prey on snail, earthworms, spider eggs, turtle eggs; several genera include specialized parasitoids of arthropods (Orthoptera, tenebrionid beetles, cockroaches, mantids, cicadas, millipedes) or ant/termite nest dwellers(2)

Life Cycle

Eggs

Larvae

Puparium

Works Cited

1.	Catalogue of Life

2.	Pape T., Dahlem G., de Mello Patiu C.A., Giroux M. (2012) The world of flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

Contributed by Keith Bayless on 20 February, 2007 - 4:43pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, v belov, Arturo Santos
Last updated 27 May, 2024 - 3:51pm

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