''Pherbellia cinerella'' is a species of fly in the family

Sciomyzidae The family Sciomyzidae belongs to the typical flies (Brachycera) of the order Diptera. They are commonly called marsh flies, and in some cases snail-killing flies due to the food of their larvae. Here, the Huttoninidae, Phaeomyiidae and Teta ...

. 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 ...

. ''P. cinerella'' is a dark and very characteristic ''Pherbellia'' and easy to recognise in the field by its long mid-frontal stripe and darkened anterior wing margin. The larva is predatory on a variety of terrestrial and aquatic snails including

Helicidae Helicidae is a large, diverse family of small to large, air-breathing land snails, sometimes called the "typical snails." A number of species in this family are valued as food items, including ''Cornu aspersum'' (formerly ''Helix aspersa'') the b ...

, ''

Galba truncatula ''Galba truncatula'' is a species of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails.Neubauer, Thomas A. (2014). Galba (Galba) truncatula (Müller, 1774). Accessed through: World R ...

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Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helices, ...

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Helicella ''Helicella'' is a genus of small to medium-sized, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Helicellinae of the family Geomitridae, the hairy snails and their allies. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). Mollusc ...

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Succinea ''Succinea'', common name the amber snails, is a large genus of small, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Succineidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Succinea Draparnaud, 1801. Access ...

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Lymnaea ''Lymnaea'' is a genus of small to large-sized air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Lymnaeinae ( of the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails.Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2013). Lymnaea Lamarck, 179 ...

''.There is little or no host preference. It is found in a wide range of habitats but it is most often found in warm and dry habitats such as coastal dunes and calcareous grassland where it can reach high numbers. It is also encountered in moist vegetation though in lesser numbers.Bratt, A. D., L.V. Knutson, B. A. Foote, and C. O. Berg, 1969 Biology of ''Pherbellia''(Diptera: Sciomyzidae).''Cornell Univ. Agric. Exper. Sta., New York State Coll. Agric. Ithaca, N.Y. Mem.'' 404, pp. 1-247; 184 figures. It is a potential

biological control agent Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

References

External links

Images representing ''Pherbellia cinerella''
at

Barcode of Life Data Systems The Barcode of Life Data System (commonly known as BOLD or BOLDSystems) is a web platform specifically devoted to DNA barcoding. It is a cloud-based data storage and analysis platform developed at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics in Canada. It ...

Sciomyzidae Insects described in 1820 Muscomorph flies of Europe {{Sciomyzoidea-stub