Snipe Flies
family of suborder “Brachyceran Flies“
1 family, 2 species
Rhagionidae are medium-sized to large flies with slender bodies and stilt-like legs. They have adapted mouthparts for piercing, and some species feed on blood as adults while others are predatory. They are typically brown and yellow flies with no bristles. The larvae are also predatory, mostly terrestrial but some are aquatic. The family is contained in the Brachycera infraorder Tabanomorpha, and several groups within the family have been raised to family rank.
Hierarchy
species of family “Snipe Flies“
1 species
Description#
Rhagionidae are medium-sized to large flies with slender bodies and stilt-like legs. The mouthparts are adapted for piercing and many species are haematophagous as adults, while others are predatory on other insects. They are typically brown and yellow flies, and lack bristles. The larvae are also predatory and are mostly terrestrial, although some are aquatic.Snipe flies in the genus Rhagio are sometimes called “down-looker” flies after their habit of perching head-downward on tree trunks.
Classification#
The family is contained in Brachycera infraorder Tabanomorpha, and several of its constituent groups have been recently elevated to family rank. Atherix (and related genera) now comprise the Athericidae, Vermileo (and related genera) now comprise the Vermileonidae, and the genera Austroleptis and Bolbomyia are each now the sole members of their own families (Austroleptidae and Bolbomyiidae).
List of subfamilies and genera#
Arthrocerinae Williston, 1886 Arthroceras Williston, 1886 - Nearctic, PalearcticChrysopilinae Bezzi, 1903 Chrysopilus Macquart, 1826 - Nearctic, Palearctic, Afrotropic, Neotropic, Oriental Schizella Bezzi, 1926 - Philippines Stylospania Frey, 1954 - PhilippinesRhagioninae Latreille, 1802 Arthroteles Bezzi, 1926 - Afrotropic Atherimorpha White, 1914 - Australasia, Neotropic, Afrotropic Desmomyia Brunetti, 1912 - Palearctic, Oriental Rhagio Fabricius, 1775 - Nearctic, Palearctic Sierramyia Kerr, 2010 - Nearctic/NeotropicSpaniinae Frey, 1954 Litoleptis Chillcott, 1963 - Nearctic, Oriental, Neotropic Omphalophora Becker, 1900 - Palearctic, Nearctic †Palaeoarthroteles Kovalev & Mostovski, 1997 Ptiolina Staeger in Zetterstedt, 1842 - Nearctic, Palearctic Spania Meigen, 1830 - Nearctic, Palearctic Spaniopsis White, 1914 - Australasia Symphoromyia Frauenfeld, 1867 - Nearctic, PalearcticIncertae sedis
Alloleptis Nagatomi & Saigusa in Nagatomi, 1982 - Sulawesi
See also#
Use of DNA in forensic entomology
Further reading#
Bezzi, M. 1928. Diptera Brachycera and Athericera of the Fiji Islands based on material in the British Museum (Natural History). British Museum (Natural History), London. viii + 220 pp. Lindner, E 1924–1925. Rhagionidae in Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region 4 (20) 1–49. ISBN 3-510-43016-6 Keys to genera and species. Stuckenberg, B., 1960. Diptera (Brachycera): Rhagionidae. S.Afr. anim. Life 7: 216–308 Keys to genera and species. Stuckenberg, B., 1965. The Rhagionidae of Madagascar (Diptera). Ann.Natal Mus. 18:89–170. Keys to genera and species. Leonard, M. D., 1930. A revision of the Dipterous family Rhagionidae (Leptidae) in the United States and Canada, Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 7:1–181. Malloch, J. R., 1932. Rhagionidae, Therevidae. British Museum (Natural History). Dept. of Entomology [eds] Diptera of Patagonia and South Chile, based mainly on material in the British Museum (Natural History). Part V. Fascicle 3. - Rhagionidae (Leptidae), Therevidae, Scenopinidae, Mydaidae, Asilidae, Lonchopteridae. pp. 199–293. Nagatomi, A. & Soroida, K., 1985. The structure of the mouthparts of the orthorrhaphous Brachycera (Diptera) with special reference to blood-sucking. Beitr. Ent. 35 (2): 263–368, 480.
References#
L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz (2007-04-09). “Rhagionidae”. British Insects: the Families of Diptera. “Rhagionidae”. Fauna Europaea. Archived from the original on October 31, 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-02. “Nomina — Diptera: P–S”. Nearctica. 1998. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. “A Check List of Japanese Insects”.
External links#
“Brachycera”. Tree of Life Web Project. Rhagio mystaceus Rhagio diagnostic photographs Data related to Rhagionidae at Wikispecies
Rhagionidae are medium-sized to large flies with slender bodies and stilt-like legs. They have adapted mouthparts for piercing, and some species feed on blood as adults while others are predatory. They are typically brown and yellow flies with no bristles. The larvae are also predatory, mostly terrestrial but some are aquatic. The family is contained in the Brachycera infraorder Tabanomorpha, and several groups within the family have been raised to family rank.
Ancestry Graph
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