Lauxaniidae Cestrotus species 2012 03 05 3589s

The Lauxaniidae are a family of acalyptrate

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 m ...

. They generally are small flies (length 7 mm or less) with large

compound eye A compound eye is a visual organ found in arthropods such as insects and crustaceans. It may consist of thousands of ommatidia, which are tiny independent photoreception units that consist of a cornea, lens, and photoreceptor cells which disti ...

s that often are brightly coloured in life, sometimes with characteristic horizontal stripes, such as in '' Cestrotus'' species. Many species have variegated patterns on their wings, but in contrast they generally do not have variegated bodies, except for genera such as ''Cestrotus'', whose camouflage mimics lichens or the texture of granitic rocks. Some 1800 species of Lauxaniidae have been described and they comprise some 126 genera. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most of the species occurring in tropical regions of Asia and the Americas; relatively few species occur in Afrotropical regions, and Lauxaniid species diversity declines strongly towards the more temperate regions; for example fewer than 200 European species have been described. Most species inhabit forests, where the adults usually are found sitting on leaves of the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

. They are far less common in open country, such as

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

habitats.

Description

For terms, see

Morphology of Diptera Dipteran morphology differs in some significant ways from the broader morphology of insects. The Diptera is a very large and diverse order of mostly small to medium-sized insects. They have prominent compound eyes on a mobile head, and (at most) ...

Lauxaniidae are small flies (2–7 mm in length). They are often rather plump, dull, or partly lustrous flies. The body colour varies from yellow to brown or black, or with a combination of these colours. The head is variable in shape, the face projecting or retreating, convex, flat or concave, usually without oral vibrissae (sometimes poorly developed, occasionally strong bristles near the vibrissal angle). The postvertical bristles converge (in rare cases parallel). The frons is wide, with two pairs of frontal bristles, the upper pair of which is always reclinate, the lower pair sometimes decussate. Interfrontal bristles are absent. The ocellar bristles are present or minute. The antennae are variable and the arista is plumose, pubescent to bare. The thorax has bristles, at least behind the suture. The scutellum is usually bare except for the marginal bristles. Propleural bristles are present or absent and one or two sternopleural bristles are seen. Tibiae all have a preapical bristle. The wings are marked or unmarked (in a number of species with spots along the veins). The wing venation is complete and the costa is continuous. The subcosta is entire and ends in the costa. The second basal and anal cells are short and the apical cell usually widely open. The abdomen is oval, rarely elongated.

Biology

The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e are mostly

saprophagous Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ( ...

, feeding in

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

, soil, bird nests, etc. Larvae of some mine fallen leaves, others live in rotten wood, and some cause deformation of the flowers and pistils of violets.

Genera

*'' Afrominettia'' Stuckenberg, 1971 *'' Agriphoneura'' Hendel, 1925 *'' Allogriphoneura'' Hendel, 1926 *'' Allominettia'' Hendel, 1925 *'' Amblada''

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...

1860 *'' Arnomyia'' Malloch, 1925 *'' Asilostoma'' Hendel, 1925 *'' Aulogastromyia'' Hendel, 1925 *'' Baliopteridion'' Papp & Silva, 1995 *'' Calliopum'' Strand, 1928 *'' Camptoprosopella'' Hendel, 1907 *'' Cestrotus'' Loew, 1862SHI LI (China), DING YANG (China) & STEPHEN D. GAIMARI (USA). Species of the genus Cestrotus Loew from China (Diptera: Lauxaniidae) Zootaxa 2009: 41-68 (11 Feb. 2009) ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition *'' Choryeuromyia'' Gaimari & Silva, 2010 *'' Cnemacantha'' Macquart, 1835 *'' Deceia'' Malloch, 1923 *'' Deutominettia'' Hendel, 1925 *'' Elipolambda'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020 *'' Eurychoromyia'' Hendel, 1910 *'' Euryhendelimyia'' Gaimari & Silva, 2010 *'' Eurystratiomyia'' Gaimari & Silva, 2010 *'' Eusapromyza'' Malloch, 1923 *'' Exalla'' Gaimari, 2011 *'' Gauzania'' Walker, 1856 *'' Gibbolauxania'' Papp & Silva, 1995 *'' Griphoneura'' Schiner, 1868 *'' Griphoneuromima'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020 *'' Hirtodeceia'' Shewell, 1986 *'' Homoneura'' Wulp, 1891 *'' Lauxania'' Latreille, 1804 *'' Luzonomyza'' Malloch, 1925 *'' Mallochomyza'' Hendel, 1925 *'' Marmarodeceia'' Shewell, 1986 *'' Meiosimyza'' Hendel, 1925 *'' Melanomyza'' Malloch, 1923 *'' Meraina'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020 *'' Minettia'' Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 *'' Minilauxania'' Papp & Silva, 1995 *'' Mycterella'' Kertész, 1912 *'' Myzaprosa'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020 *'' Neodeceia'' Malloch, 1924 *'' Neogeomyza'' Séguy, 1938 *'' Neogriphoneura'' Malloch, 1924 *'' Neoparoecus'' Özdikmen & Merz, 2006 *'' Oncodometopus'' Shewell, 1986 *'' Pachycerina'' Macquart, 1835 *'' Pachyopella'' Shewell, 1986 *'' Paradeceia'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020 *'' Paranomina'' Hendel, 1907 *'' Parapachycerina'' Stuckenberg, 1971 *'' Peplominettia'' Szilády, 1943 *'' Peplomyza'' Haliday, 1837 *'' Physegeniopsis'' Gaimari & Silva, 2010 *'' Physegenua'' Macquart, 1848 *'' Physoclypeus'' Hendel, 1907 *'' Poecilolycia'' Shewell, 1986 *'' Poecilominettia'' Hendel, 1932 *'' Prosopomyia'' Loew, 1856 *'' Pseudocalliope'' Malloch, 1928 *'' Pseudodeceia'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020 *'' Pseudominettia'' Papp & Silva, 1995 *'' Roryeuchomyia'' Gaimari & Silva, 2010 *'' Sapromyza'' Fallén, 1810 *'' Sapromyzosoma'' Lioy, 1864 *'' Sciasminettia'' Shewell, 1986 *'' Sericominettia'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020 *'' Steganolauxania''

Frey Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden a ...

, 1918 *'' Stenolauxania'' Malloch, 1926 *'' Tauridion'' Papp & Silva, 1995 *'' Tricholauxania'' Hendel, 1925 *'' Trigonometopus'' Macquart, 1835 *'' Trisapromyza'' Shewell, 1986 *'' Trivialia'' Malloch, 1923 *'' Trypetisoma'' Malloch, 1924 *'' Wawu'' Evenhuis 1989 *'' Xangelina''

1856 *'' Xeniconeura'' Shewell, 1986 *'' Xenochaetina'' Malloch, 1923 *'' Xenopterella'' Malloch, 1926 *'' Zamyprosa'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020 *'' Zargopsinettia'' Gaimari & Silva, 2020

Gallery

File:Oscinella frit.jpg, File:Lauxaniidae Unidentified Cestrotus species 2012 03 05 3467s.JPG, File:Fly November 2007-11.jpg, File:Minettia fasciata.ogv, Video: female of the ''Minettia fasciata'' group File:Fly June 2008-5.jpg, File:Sapromyzosoma quadricincta 01.JPG, File:Wawu queenslandensis.png, '' Wawu queenslandensis''

References

External links

Family Lauxaniidae at EOL
image gallery
Diptera.info
image gallery
BugGuide
image gallery

Many images of

types Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type In computer science and computer programming, a data type (or simply type) is a set of possible values and a set of allo ...

.
Family descriptionsWing venation
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5321513 Brachycera families Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart

Description

Biology

Genera

Gallery

References

Further reading

Identification

Species lists

External links