Aulacigastridae is a very small

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

flies 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 ...

known as sap flies. The family Stenomicridae used to be included within this family, but was moved by Papp in 1984. They are found in all the

Ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

Description

For terms see

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) ...

. Aulacigastrids are small black flies. The head is rounded. Postvertical bristles and ocellar bristles are absent, there are two orbital bristles on each side of frons, the anterior orbital bristle directed forward and towards median line. Vibrissae are well developed. On the mesonotum there are two pairs of dorsocentral bristles. The costa is interrupted near the subcosta (which reaches the costa). The posterior basal wing cell and discoidal wing cell are fused and the anal vein does not reach the margin of the wings.

Biology

The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of sap flies feed on the

sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

and

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

trees (sap runs) and feed on micro-organisms within the sap. Adults feed on

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

, and other

fermenting Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

substances.

Species lists

West Palaearctic including RussiaJapanWorld list

Identification

Duda ) (Polish, Ukrainian Carpathians) *Diple (Dalmatian Coast) *Tulum (Turkish and Pontic) *Tsambouna (Dodecanese and Cyclades) *Askambandoura (Crete) *Gajdy (Polish/Czech/Slovak) *Gaita ( Galician) *Surle (Serbian/Croatian) *Mezoued/Zukra (Northern A ...

. 1934. Aulacigastridae. In Lindner, In: Lindner, E. (Ed.). ''Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region'' 6,1,58c, 1-5. Keys to Palaearctic species but now needs revision (in German). * Stackelberg, A.A. Family Aulacigastridae 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.

Phylogeny

References

*Mathis, W. N., Freidberg, A. A, 1994 Revision of the Nearctic Aulacigaster Macquart with notes on A. leucopeza (Meigen) from the Palearctic Region (Diptera, Aulacigastridae) ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington'' 96 :583–59
online

External links

Diptera.info
Images Brachycera families Opomyzoidea {{Opomyzoidea-stub