''Rivellia'' is a genus of signal flies (insects in the family Platystomatidae). There are at least 140 described species in ''Rivellia''.

Economic importance

There is limited information and understanding about the juvenile stages of most signal fly species. Thirteen species of ''Rivellia'' have, however, been studied in the field of agriculture because the larvae of many of these flies are associated with both living and decaying root nodules of nitrogen-fixing legumes, such as

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

, and

pigeon pea The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeas ...

. They can also be found on the roots or flowers of other cultivated plants like

eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mos ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

, black locust, and ''Narcissus''.Whittington, A E (2019) The economic significance of the signal fly genus ''Rivellia'' Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Platystomatidae). ''Israel Journal of Entomology'' 49(2): 135–160. https://zenodo.org/records/3371321 With soybean, this association has been shown to be economically significant because pest-induced stress caused by these flies can significantly reduce

nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular nitrogen (), with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into ammonia () or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or aquatic systems but also in industry. Atmo ...

and yields; ''Rivellia quadrifasciata'', ''Rivellia basilaris'', and ''Rivellia basilaris'' are all known pests of root nodules of this crop. Because this is a widely distributed genus, economically important effects are likely to be found in many other crops world-wide.

References

Diptera of Africa Muscomorph flies of Europe Platystomatidae Articles containing video clips Tephritoidea genera Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Robineau-Desvoidy {{Tephritoidea-stub

Economic importance

See also

References