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Piophilidae
The Piophilidae are a family of "true flies", in the order Diptera. The so-called cheese flies are the best-known members, but most species of the Piophilidae are scavengers in animal products, carrion, and fungi. They may accordingly be important in forensic entomology and medical entomology. For a fly maggot, the larvae of many species have an unusually well-developed ability to leap when alarmed or when abandoning their larval food to pupate; they accordingly may be known as cheese skippers or other kinds of skippers according to their food source. Overview The most notorious member of the family is the cheese fly, ''Piophila casei''; it is cosmopolitan, and a typical member of the family. It is a small species, about long. The fly's larvae infest cured meats, smoked or salted fish, cheeses, and carrion. The mature larva is about long and is sometimes called the cheese skipper because of its leaping ability - when disturbed, this tiny maggot can hop some 15 cm (6& ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prochyliza Xanthostoma
The waltzing fly ''(Prochyliza xanthostoma)'' is a species of "carrion-feeding" cheese skippers, insects in the family Piophilidae and the order Diptera. ''P. xanthostoma'' is a member of the genus Prochyliza, which contains eleven species. The adult flies are found through North America and are brown-bodied, with orange and black coloring. Mating occurs on animal carcasses and male perform mating rituals; females engage in ejaculate feeding. The waltzing fly is known for its exaggerated sexual dimorphism and has thus become a prominent model for sexual dimorphism and larval behavior. These organisms are known as cheese skippers because when startled, the larvae (which often infest cured meats and cheese) can leap several inches into the air. ''P. xanthostoma'' is an important model organism for sexual selection, larval behavior, and adult reproductive success and survivability. Description The adult waltzing flies are narrow, brown-bodied with legs that are orange medial to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protopiophila Litigata
''Protopiophila'' is a genus of cheese skippers (insects in the family Piophilidae). There are eleven described species in ''Protopiophila''. Species These species belong to the genus ''Protopiophila'': * '' Protopiophila aethiopica'' (Hennig, 1951) * '' Protopiophila atrichosa'' J. McAlpine, 1977 * '' Protopiophila australis'' Harrison, 1960 * '' Protopiophila contecta'' (Walker, 1960) * '' Protopiophila latipes'' (Meigen, 1838) i b * '' Protopiophila leucodactyla'' (Hennig, 1954) * '' Protopiophila litigata'' Bonduriansky, 1995 * '' Protopiophila nigriventris'' (Curran, 1934) * '' Protopiophila pallida'' J. McAlpine, 1977 * '' Protopiophila scutellata'' Harrison, 1960 * '' Protopiophila vitrea'' D. McAlpine, 1989 Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net References Further reading * Piophilidae Articles created by Qbugbot Tephritoidea genera {{Tephritoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheese Fly
The cheese fly (''Piophila casei'') is a species of fly whose larvae are known for infesting human foodstuffs including cured meats, smoked or salted fish, cheeses and also carrion. The larvae of this fly are known as cheese skippers, bacon skippers, ham skippers, etc. due to their ability to launch themselves several inches into the air when alarmed or disturbed. In the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, the larvae are intentionally introduced into pecorino cheese to produce the characteristic '' casu marzu'' ("rotten cheese" in Sardinian language). When consumed, the larvae can survive in the intestine, causing enteric myiasis. Description Mesonotum finely shagreened, not pubescent and with three lines of longitudinal chaetules. "Soies ocellaires écartées l'une de l'autre" bristles present and divergent]. Abdomen is elliptical. Anterior margin of inter ocular space is reddish or orange. Face reddish. Cheeks wide.Séguy, E. (1934) ''Diptères: Brachycères''. II. ''Musci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forensic Entomology
Forensic entomology is the scientific study of the colonization of a dead body by arthropods. This includes the study of insect types commonly associated with cadavers, their respective life cycles, their ecological presences in a given environment, as well as the changes in insect assemblage with the progression of decomposition. Insect succession patterns are identified based on the time a given species of insect spends in a given developmental stage, and how many generations have been produced since the insects introduction to a given food source. Insect development alongside environmental data such as temperature and vapor density, can be used to estimate the time since death, due to the fact that flying insects are attracted to a body immediately after death. The identification of postmortem interval to aid in death investigations is the primary scope of this scientific field. However, forensic entomology is not limited to homicides, it has also been used in cases of neglect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piophila Casei
The cheese fly (''Piophila casei'') is a species of fly whose larvae are known for infesting human foodstuffs including cured meats, smoked or salted fish, cheeses and also carrion. The larvae of this fly are known as cheese skippers, bacon skippers, ham skippers, etc. due to their ability to launch themselves several inches into the air when alarmed or disturbed. In the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, the larvae are intentionally introduced into pecorino cheese to produce the characteristic ''casu marzu'' ("rotten cheese" in Sardinian language). When consumed, the larvae can survive in the intestine, causing enteric myiasis. Description Mesonotum finely shagreened, not pubescent and with three lines of longitudinal chaetules. "Soies ocellaires écartées l'une de l'autre" bristles present and divergent]. Abdomen is elliptical. Anterior margin of inter ocular space is reddish or orange. Face reddish. Cheeks wide.Séguy, E. (1934) ''Diptères: Brachycères''. II. ''Muscida ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diptera
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced mechanosensory organs known as halteres, which act as high-speed sensors of rotational movement and allow dipterans to perform advanced aerobatics. Diptera is a large order containing an estimated 1,000,000 species including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies and others, although only about 125,000 species have been described. Flies have a mobile head, with a pair of large compound eyes, and mouthparts designed for piercing and sucking (mosquitoes, black flies and robber flies), or for lapping and sucking in the other groups. Their wing arrangement gives them great maneuverability in flight, and claws and pads on their feet enable them to cling to smooth surfaces. Flies undergo complete metamorphosis; the eggs are often laid on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casu Marzu
(; literally 'rotten/putrid cheese'), sometimes spelled , and also called , and in Sardinian, is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that contains live insect larvae (maggots). A variation of this cheese exists also in Corsica (France), where it is called casgiu merzu, and is especially produced in some Southern Corsican villages like Sartene. Derived from pecorino, casu martzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage of decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly of the Piophilidae family. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese's fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called , Sardinian for "teardrop") seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, roughly long. Fermentation Casu martzu is created by leaving whole pecorino cheeses outside with part of the rind removed to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Territory (animal)
In ethology, territory is the sociographical area that an animal consistently defends against conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against animals of other species) using agonistic behaviors or (less commonly) real physical aggression. Animals that actively defend territories in this way are referred to as being territorial or displaying territorialism. Territoriality is only shown by a minority of species. More commonly, an individual or a group of animals occupies an area that it habitually uses but does not necessarily defend; this is called its home range. The home ranges of different groups of animals often overlap, and in these overlap areas the groups tend to avoid each other rather than seeking to confront and expel each other. Within the home range there may be a ''core area'' that no other individual group uses, but, again, this is as a result of avoidance. Function The ultimate function of animals inhabiting and defending a territory is to increase the indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aggregation (ethology)
{{unreferenced, date=July 2013 In ethology, an aggregation is any form of gathering of organisms and the process of coming together. In some forms groups of unrelated species might form, in which interaction between members of the aggregation might be minimal; for example herds of grazing zebra and antelopes might combine, both the better to observe the approach of predators, and to improve the odds of escape in the event of attack by predators. Sometimes there might be some interaction, such as mixed flocks of birds that observe each other's foraging behaviour in searching for food. Sometimes there might be quite orderly common action, such as the queuing up for a resource; for example different species of fishes may aggregate around a cleaning station where cleaner wrasse and cleaner shrimp are active, more or less taking turns for attention. Such aggregations, where there is no particular association of species or sizes, may be referred to loosely as unstructured aggregations. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sexual Dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, colour, markings, or behavioural or cognitive traits. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated and may be subjected to sexual selection and natural selection. The opposite of dimorphism is ''monomorphism'', which is when both biological sexes are phenotypically indistinguishable from each other. Overview Ornamentation and coloration Common and easily identified types of dimorphism consist of ornamentation and coloration, though not always apparent. A difference in coloration of sexes within a given species is called sexual dichromatism, which is commonly seen in many species of birds and reptiles. Sexual selection leads to the exaggerated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or assume a new form. Differences between instars can often be seen in altered body proportions, colors, patterns, changes in the number of body segments or head width. After shedding their exoskeleton (moulting), the juvenile arthropods continue in their life cycle until they either pupate or moult again. The instar period of growth is fixed; however, in some insects, like the salvinia stem-borer moth, the number of instars depends on early larval nutrition. Some arthropods can continue to moult after sexual maturity, but the stages between these subsequent moults are generally not called instars. For most insect species, an ''instar'' is the developmental stage of the larval forms of holometabolous (complete metamorphism) or nymphal fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the population during that process. Thirdly, it is a phenotypic trait or adaptive trait, with a functional role in each individual organism, that is maintained and has evolved through natural selection. Historically, adaptation has been described from the time of the ancient Greek philosophers such as Empedocles and Aristotle. In 18th and 19th century natural theology, adaptation was taken as evidence for the existence of a deity. Charles Darwin proposed instead that it was explained by natural selection. Adaptation is related to biological fitness, which governs the rate of evolution as measured by change in allele frequencies. Often, two or more species co-adapt and co-evolve as they develop adaptations that interlock with those of the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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