British Insects: the Families of Diptera
| British Insects: the Families of Diptera | |
Signal Flies (prefered name), Pictured-wing Flies.
Adult insects. Small; robustly-built. Antennae 3 segmented (the third segment short and rounded or long and thin); ‘modified’. Antennae aristate; the bristle dorsal (not plumose). The second antennal segment not grooved. Ptilinal suture clearly defined. Ocelli present; 3. Post-vertical orbital bristles present (small). Mouthparts functional (the proboscis very stout); non-piercing. The maxillary palps 1 segmented; porrect. Vibrissae absent. Thorax without a continuous dorsal suture; without well defined posterior calli. Wings with a discal cell; without a sub-apical cell, or with a subapical cell to without a sub-apical cell (i.e., sometimes almost closed); with a closed anal cell. The anal cell short. The costa with one break (near the humeral vein). Sub-costa apparent; reaching the costa independently of vein 1. The leading edge veins not noticeably stronger than the rest. Vein 6 present; falling short of the wing margin. Vein 7 absent. Wings with a well developed lower calypter, or with the lower calypter much reduced or absent; patterned. Tibiae without a dorsal pre-apical bristle. Hind tibiae without strong bristles in the basal 4/5.
Larvae and pupae. Larvae terrestrial; phytophagous, or saprophagous, or predatory; acephalic. Pupa enclosed within a puparium.
Comments. Small flies with patterned wings and a very stout proboscis. Ovipositor sheath not retractile.
Classification. Suborder Brachycera; Division Muscomorpha Schizophora Acalyptratae; Superfamily Tephritoidea.
British representation: Genera 2; 2 species.
Illustrations: • Platystoma seminationis (Spotted Flat-headed Fly: B. Ent. 505). • Platystoma seminationis (detail: B. Ent. 505). • Platystoma seminationis (dissections: B. Ent. 505). • Platystoma seminationis (B. Ent. 505, legend+text). • Platystoma seminationis (B. Ent. 505, text cont.).
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Diptera. Version: 9th April 2007. http://delta-intkey.com’.
