|
Orange Legged Drone Fly
''Eristalis flavipes'', the orange-legged drone fly, is a species of hoverfly native to North America. It flies from early April to mid-October, and occurs in a wide variety of habitats, particularly wetlands. Hoverflies get their names from the ability to remain nearly motionless while in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found around and on flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt .... The larvae are aquatic filter-feeders of the rat-tailed type. Description ''Eristalis flavipes'' strongly resembles a bumblebee. For terms see Morphology of Diptera. It is 13 to 17 mm long. ;Head The face, cheeks (gena) and facial stripe are shining black with short ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Walker (entomologist)
Francis Walker (31 July 1809 – 5 October 1874) was an English entomologist. He was born in Southgate, London, on 31 July 1809 and died at Wanstead, England on 5 October 1874. He was one of the most prolific authors in entomology, and stirred controversy during his later life as his publications resulted in a huge number of junior synonyms. However, his assiduous work on the collections of the British Museum had great significance. Between June 1848 and late 1873 Walker was contracted by John Edward Gray Director of the British Museum to catalogue their insects (except Coleoptera) that is Orthoptera, Neuroptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Walker largely accomplished this and (Edwards, 1870) wrote of the plan and by implication those who implemented it “It is to him raythat the Public owe the admirable helps to the study of natural history which have been afforded by the series of inventories, guides, and nomenclatures, the publication of which beg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Loew
Friedrich Hermann Loew (19 July 1807 – 21 April 1879) was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges. He described many world species and was the first specialist to work on the Diptera of the United States. Biography Early years Hermann Loew was born in Weissenfels, Saxony a short distance south of Halle (Germany). The Loew family, though not wealthy, was well-placed. Loew's father was a functionary for the Department of Justice of the Duchy of Saxony who later became a ''Geheimer Regierungsrath'' of Prussia. Between 1817 and 1829 Loew attended first the Convent school of Rossleben, then the University of Halle-Wittenberg, graduating in mathematics, philology and natural history. Teacher, tutor and husband Recognizing his abilities as a mathematician, the university, on his graduation, appointed him as a lecturer in the same subjects. In 1830 he went to Berlin and gave lessons in differen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Montgomery Hull
Frank Montgomery Hull (November 3, 1901 – 1982) was an American naturalist who specialized in entomology, especially Diptera. Works * * * * References American entomologists 1982 deaths 1901 births People from Coahoma, Mississippi Dipterists Mississippi State University alumni University of Mississippi faculty Texas A&M University faculty New Mexico State University faculty Ohio State University alumni Harvard University alumni Scientists from Mississippi 20th-century American zoologists {{US-entomologist-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Robert Osten-Sacken
Carl Robert Osten-Sacken or Carl-Robert Romanovich, Baron von der Osten-Sacken, Baron Osten Sacken (21 August 1828, – 20 May 1906) was a Russian diplomat and entomologist. He served as the Russian consul general in New York City during the American Civil War, living in the United States from 1856 to 1877. He worked on the taxonomy of flies in general and particularly of the family Tipulidae (crane flies). Early life Carl Robert Osten-Sacken was born on 21 August 1828 in St. Petersburg as the son of Baltic German Baron Reinhold Friedrich von der Osten-Sacken (1791-1864) and his wife, Elisabeth von Engelhardt (1805-1873). Biography He took an interest in insects at the age of eleven through the influence of Joseph N. Schatiloff, a Russian coleopterist. In 1849 he joined the Imperial Foreign Office and while still in Russia he published his first entomological papers, including an account of the species found in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. In 1856, he was sent to Was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoverfly
Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores and prey on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects. Insects such as aphids are considered a crop pest, and therefore the aphid-eating larvae of some hover flies serve as an economically (as well as ecologically) important predator and even potential agents for use in biological control, while the adults may be pollinators. About 6,000 species in 200 genera have been described. Hover flies are common throughout the world and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. Hover flies are harmless to most mammals, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nectarivore
In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Nectar as a food source presents a number of benefits as well as challenges. It is essentially a solution of (as much as 80%) the simple sugars sucrose, glucose and fructose, which are easily ingested and digested, representing a rich and efficient source of nutrition. This solution is often diluted either by the plant that produces it or by rain falling on a flower and many nectarivores possess adaptations to effectively rid themselves of any excess water ingested this way. However, nectar is an incomplete source of nutrition. While it does contain proteins and amino acids, these are found in low quantities, and it is severely deficient in minerals and vitamins. Very few organisms consume nectar exclusively over their whole life cycle, either supplementing it with other sources, particularly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palynivore
In zoology, a palynivore /pəˈlɪnəvɔːɹ/, meaning "pollen eater" (from Greek παλύνω palunō, "strew, sprinkle", and Latin, vorare, meaning "to devour") is an herbivorous animal which selectively eats the nutrient-rich pollen produced by angiosperms and gymnosperms. Most true palynivores are insects or mites. The category in its strictest application includes most bees, and a few kinds of wasps, as pollen is often the only solid food consumed by all life stages in these insects. However, the category can be extended to include more diverse species. For example, palynivorous mites and thrips typically feed on the liquid content of the pollen grains without actually consuming the exine, or the solid portion of the grain. Additionally, the list is expanded greatly if one takes into consideration species where either the larval or adult stage feeds on pollen, but not both. There are other wasps which are in this category, as well as many beetles, flies, butterflies, and mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rat-tailed Maggot
Rat-tailed maggots are the larvae of certain species of hoverflies belonging to the tribes Eristalini and Sericomyiini. A characteristic feature of rat-tailed maggots is a tube-like, telescoping breathing siphon located at its posterior end. This acts like a snorkel, allowing the larva to breathe air while submerged. The siphon is usually about as long as the maggot's body ( when mature), but can be extended as long as . This organ gives the larva its common name. The most commonly encountered rat-tailed maggot is the larva of the drone fly, ''Eristalis tenax''. It lives in stagnant, oxygen-deprived water, with a high organic content. It is fairly tolerant of pollution and can live in sewage lagoons and cesspools. Commercial use These larvae, commonly called "mousies", are cultured and sold as fish bait. They are especially popular in ice fishing. Infection Occasionally, cases have been documented of human intestinal myiasis caused by the rat-tailed maggot. Symptoms can range f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bumblebee
A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera (e.g., ''Calyptapis'') are known from fossils. They are found primarily in higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they are also found in South America, where a few lowland tropical species have been identified. European bumblebees have also been introduced to New Zealand and Tasmania. Female bumblebees can sting repeatedly, but generally ignore humans and other animals. Most bumblebees are social insects that form colonies with a single queen. The colonies are smaller than those of honey bees, growing to as few as 50 individuals in a nest. Cuckoo bumblebees are brood parasitic and do not make nests or form colonies; their queens aggressively invade the nests of other bumblebee species, kill the resident queen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morphology Of Diptera
Dipteran morphology differs in some significant ways from the broader morphology of insects. The Diptera is a very large and diverse order of mostly small to medium-sized insects. They have prominent compound eyes on a mobile head, and (at most) one pair of functional, membraneous wings, which are attached to a complex mesothorax. The second pair of wings, on the metathorax, are reduced to halteres. The order's fundamental peculiarity is its remarkable specialization in terms of wing shape and the morpho-anatomical adaptation of the thorax – features which lend particular agility to its flying forms. The filiform, stylate or aristate antennae correlate with the Nematocera, Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha taxa respectively. It displays substantial morphological uniformity in lower taxa, especially at the level of genus or species. The configuration of integumental bristles is of fundamental importance in their taxonomy, as is wing venation. It displays a complete metamorphosis (egg, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eristalini
Eristalini is a tribe of hoverflies. Several species are well-known honeybee mimics, such as the drone fly ''Eristalis tenax'', while other genera such as ''Helophilus'' and ''Parhelophilus'' exhibit wasp-like patterns of yellow and black stripes, both strategies to avoid predation by visual predators such as birds. They breed in decaying organic materials such as run-offs from dung heaps (''Eristalis'') or in ponds and ditches (e.g. ''Anasimyia''). Some others, such as '' Myathropa'' and ''Mallota'', breed in wet rotting tree stumps and rot holes. A characteristic feature of this tribe is the "rat-tailed maggot" with a rear positioned telescopic breathing tube, allowing the larvae to breathe while living submerged in water or mud. This feature is also shared with another hoverfly tribe the Sericomyiini though those flies do not share the characteristic eristaline dip in wing vein R4+5. List of genera Thompson considers the tribe Sericomyiini a subtribe of the Eristalini while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
