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''Craticulina'' is a genus of
''Craticulina'' is a genus of true 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 ...
in the family Sarcophagidae
Sarcophagidae () are a family of flies commonly known as flesh flies. They differ from most flies in that they are ovoviviparous, opportunistically depositing hatched or hatching maggots instead of eggs on carrion, dung, decaying material, or o ...
. They are cleptoparasite
Kleptoparasitism (etymologically, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct feeding, which can mean when fo ...
s of various species of sand wasps. They are ovoviviparous
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...
, laying larvae instead of eggs. The larvae share the prey of the sand wasp, and though they are much smaller than the wasps, many fly larvae may be present in each wasp larva, causing food to run short. Sometimes the fly larvae also attack the wasp larvae while they are small, especially if too many fly larvae and too little food are present.
The flies are sand coloured, which no doubt helps camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
them, but at least some species of hosts take evasive action when ''Craticulina'' species are present, though it is not clear how effectively.
Species
*'' C. antachates'' ( Séguy, 1949) *'' C. barbifera'' ( Pandellé, 1895) *'' C. bequaerti'' Venturi, 1958 *'' C. diffusa'' Villeneuve, 1934 *'' C. digressum'' Séguy, 1953 *'' C. fimbriata'' Bezzi, 1911 *'' C. genesae'' Verves, 2000 *'' C. gussakovskii'' Verves, 1993 *'' C. tabaniformis'' ( Fabricius, 1805) *'' C. transvaalensis'' Zumpt, 1961 *'' C. zimini'' Verves, 1993References
Sarcophagidae Oestroidea genera Taxa named by Mario Bezzi {{Oestroidea-stub