Pallopteridae is a family of flies. The various species are collectively called flutter-wing flies, trembling-wing, or waving-wing flies, because of the striking vibration of the wings in many species. Over 70

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 about 15

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 ...

are found in the temperate regions of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Biology

Adults have been found on

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

and low-hanging branches in shady habits. Known larvae are phytophagous or

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

(some species preying on

beetles Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

of the families Cerambycidae and

Scolytidae A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family ( Curculionidae). Although t ...

. One species is recorded as preying on larvae of the family Cecidomyiidae. Some have been found in flower buds and stems.

Description

For terms see Morphology of Diptera They are medium-sized or relatively small flies, they have spots on their wings (dark smoky apical spot in ''

Palloptera ustulata ''Palloptera ustulata'' is a species of fly in the family Pallopteridae. 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 wings are considerably longer than the abdomen. The head is semispherical and the postvertical bristles on the head are parallel or divergent. Vibrissae on the head are absent. The arista is bare or has a short pubescence. The mesonotom has four to six pairs of dorso-central bristles. Tibiae without subapical bristles. The costa is interrupted near the end of the subcosta. The subcosta reaches the costa. The subcosta is complete and well separated from vein 1. The cross vein closing the anal cell is usually convex and the angle the cross vein closing anal cell meets vein 6 at more than 90°. Se

Genera

These 14 genera belong to the family Pallopteridae: * '' Aenigmatomyia'' * '' Eurygnathomyia'' * '' Gorbunia'' * '' Heloparia'' * '' Homaroides'' * '' Morgea'' * '' Neomaorina'' * ''

Palloptera ''Palloptera'' is a genus of flutter flies in the family Pallopteridae Pallopteridae is a family of flies. The various species are collectively called flutter-wing flies, trembling-wing, or waving-wing flies, because of the striking vibration ...

'' * '' Pallopterites'' * '' Pseudopyrgota'' * '' Sciochthis'' * '' Temnosira'' * ''

Toxoneura ''Toxonevra'' is a genus of flutter flies in the family Pallopteridae. There are about eight described species in ''Toxonevra''. Species These eight species belong to the genus ''Toxonevra'': *'' T. alticola'' Ozerov, 1994 *'' T. carterosoma'' ...

'' * ''

Toxonevra ''Toxonevra'' is a genus of flutter flies in the family Pallopteridae. There are about eight described species in ''Toxonevra''. Species These eight species belong to the genus ''Toxonevra'': *'' T. alticola'' Ozerov, 1994 *'' T. carterosoma'' ...

Fossils

Five species in four genera are recorded in the fossil record of this family.

References

* *

Biology

Description

Genera

Fossils

References

See also

Identification (literature)