''Lotophila atra '' is a species of
fly
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...
in the family
Sphaeroceridae, the lesser dung flies. It is found in the
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
.
[Bei-Bienko, G.Y. & Steyskal, G.C. (1988) ''Keys to the Insects of the European Part of the USSR'', Volume V: Diptera and Siphonaptera, Parts I, II. Amerind Publishing Co., New Delhi. ]
The larvae live in a wide range of moist decaying organic materials where they feed on micro-organisms.
References
Sphaeroceridae
Insects described in 1830
{{Sphaeroceroidea-stub