Asteiidae
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Asteiidae is a small but widespread family of acalyptrate flies or
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 ...
. About 130
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in 10
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
have been described worldwide. They are rarely collected.


Family description

For terms see Morphology of Diptera. Adult asteiids are minute to small (1–3 millimeters) thin-bodied and delicate (often weakly sclerotized) flies, with yellow-black or dark colours. The wings are relatively long and transparent. The head is rounded, the male almost always with distinct interfrontal stripes. The arista may be bare or pubescent but usually has a zigzag of longer and shorter alternating rays. The postvertical bristles are weakly developed, divergent or parallel or totally absent. Ocellar bristles may be present or absent. There is one orbital bristle on each side of the frons (Shtakel'berg] (0–2 pairs of frontal bristles). Interfrontal bristles may be present as may scattered interfrontal setulae. Vibrissae may be absent or present. On the mesonotum are one to two pairs of dorsocentral bristles. The costa is entire, without interruptions; the subcosta is reduced; posterior basal wing cell and discoidal wing cell are fused; anal cell of wing and anal vein of wing are absent. Tibiae lack a dorsal preapical bristle. Se


Biology

Adults are often found on flowers and low vegetation but have been collected at windows indoors and on tree wounds. In one genus (''Leiomyza'') adults are found on mushrooms and bracket fungi. Adults of the species ''Astiosoma rufifrons'' Duda are attracted to wood ash after bonfires especially at evening. Larval biologies are unknown, but adults have been reared from fungi (''Leiomyza''), stalks of ''Cannabis sativa'', flower buds, and dried reed stems. Sabrosky (1987) suggested that the larvae may be scavengers in the frass of other insects.


Species lists


Palaearctic Japan
One species


Identification (literature)

Curtis Williams Sabrosky, Sabrosky, C.W., 1943. New genera and species of Asteiidae (Diptera), with a review of the family in the Americas. ''Annals of the Entomological Society of America'': 36(3):501-514. Available online a
the Core Historical Literature of Agriculture
Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell University. Curtis Williams Sabrosky, Sabrosky, C.W., 1956. Additions to the knowledge of Old World Asteiidae.''Revue francaise d'entomologie'' (Nouvelle Serie) 23:216-243.


Authorship

The family Asteiidae was erected by
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 specia ...


Phylogeny


Images

Se
Images at Diptera.info
* Encyclopedia of Life World taxa list and images


References

* Duda. 1934. Astiidae. In: Lindner, E. (Ed.). ''Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region'' 6, 1, 58b, 1-15. Keys to Palaearctic species but now needs revision (in German). *Papp, L. 1998. Family Asteiidae. In: Papp, L. and Darvas, B.: ''Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera''. 3: 295-303. Science Herald, Budapest. *Papp L., 1984. Family Asteiidae. In: Soós Á. & Papp L. (eds.), ''Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera'', 10. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest - Elsevier, Amsterdam: 63-66. *
Stackelberg __NOTOC__ Stackelberg is a surname, mainly known as the surname of a noble family of Baltic German descent (see Stackelberg family). Notable people with the surname include: A * Adolphe Stackelberg (1822–1871), Swedish count and Christian reviv ...
, A.A. Family Asteiidae in Bei-Bienko, G. Ya, 1988 ''Keys to the insects of the European Part of the USSR'' Volume 5 (Diptera) Part 2 English edition.Keys to Palaearctic species but now needs revision . {{Taxonbar, from=Q3627490 Brachycera families Articles containing video clips