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Hoverflies
Hoverflies, also called flower flies or syrphids, make up the insect family (biology), family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen Hover (behaviour), hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, specifically detritivores, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores, preying on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects. Insects such as aphids are considered crop pest (organism), pests, so the aphid-eating larvae of some hoverflies are economically and ecologically important. The larvae are potential agents for use in biological control, while the adults are pollinators. About 6,000 species in 200 genus, genera have been described. Hoverflies are common throughout the world and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hover (behaviour)
Hovering is the ability exhibited by some winged animals to remain relatively stationary in midair. Usually this involves rapid downward thrusts of the wings to generate upward lift. Sometimes hovering is maintained by flapping or soaring into a headwind; this form of hovering is called "wind hovering", "windhovering", or "kiting". True hoverers Hummingbirds Hummingbirds hover over flowers to obtain nectar, flapping their wings at up to 70 beats per second. Archilochus colubris-male hovering.jpg, Ruby-throated hummingbird Calypte costae-male hovering nectaring.jpg, Costa's hummingbird Sword-billed hummingbird (male) at Guango Lodge, Ecuador (21310837273).jpg, Sword-billed hummingbird Bats Like hummingbirds, fruit bats and nectar bats hover over flowers while feeding on fruits or nectar. Comparison between bats and hummingbirds has revealed that these animals exert similar amounts of energy relative to body weight during hovering: hummingbirds can twist their wing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipizinae
The Pipizinae is a subfamily of hoverflies. Pipizinae was formerly considered a tribe within Eristalinae, but a phylogenetic analysis published in 2015 suggested it should be ranked as a separate subfamily, sister to the Syrphinae. Its members are small to medium-sized and generally black, although some species also have orange spots on their abdomen. The larvae feed on aphids, though they seem to have a preference for wax-secreting aphids, e.g. Pemphigidae. Genera *'' Claussenia'' Vujić & Ståhls, 2013 *'' Cryptopipiza'' Mutin, 1998 *'' Heringia'' Rondani, 1856 *'' Neocnemodon'' Goffe, 1944 *†'' Oligopipiza'' Nidergas, Hadrava & Nel, 2018 (a fossil genus from Middle Oligocene ~28 MYR-BP) *''Pipiza ''Pipiza'' is a genus Hoverfly, Hoverflies, from the family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. Most are dark hoverflies. Biology Larvae are feeders on gall forming aphids. Species References {{Authority control Diptera of Europe Dipte ...'' Fallén, 1810 *'' Pipizel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollinator
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the major pollinators of most plants, and insect pollinators include all families of bees and most families of Aculeata, aculeate wasps; ants; many families of flies; many lepidopterans (both butterflies and moths); and many families of beetles. Vertebrates, mainly bats and birds, but also some non-bat mammals (monkeys, lemurs, Phalangeriformes, possums, rodents) and some lizards pollinate certain plants. Among the pollinating birds are hummingbirds, honeyeaters and sunbirds with long beaks; they pollinate a number of deep-throated flowers. Humans may also carry out artificial pollination. A pollinator is different from a pollenizer, a plant that is a source of pollen for the pollination process. Background Plants fall into pollination s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eristalinae
Eristalinae (or Milesiinae) are one of the four subfamilies of the fly family (biology), family Hoverfly, Syrphidae, or hoverflies. A well-known species included in this subfamily is the Eristalis tenax, common drone fly, ''Eristalis tenax''. Species in this subfamily are often misclassified as bees instead of flies due to their exceptional mimicry, especially to resemble Honeybees (family Apidae). The best strategy for proper identification is to look at their eyes and wings and compare with fly morphology, to determine membership of family Hoverfly, Syrphidae or of order Hymenoptera. Taxonomy This subfamily consists of the following tribes: * Brachyopini * Callicerini * Cerioidini * Eristalini * Sericomyiini * Eumerini * Milesiini * Rhingiini * Volucellini Gallery Brachyopa daeckei.jpg, ''Brachyopa daeckei'' actual size Sphiximorpha subsessilis, Parc de Woluwé, Brussels (34851582946).jpg, ''Sphiximorpha subsessilis'' Namaste! (8089480678).jpg, ''Palpada sp.'' Sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Central America, Central and South America. As of 2024, 21 hummingbird species are listed as Endangered species, endangered or critically endangered, with numerous species declining in population. Hummingbirds have varied specialized characteristics to enable rapid, maneuverable flight: exceptional metabolism, metabolic capacity, adaptations to high altitude, sensitive visual and communication abilities, and long-distance migration in some species. Among all birds, male hummingbirds have the widest diversity of plumage color, particularly in blues, greens, and purples. Hummingbirds are the smallest mature birds, measuring in length. The smallest is the bee hummingbird, which weighs less than , and the largest is the giant hummingbird, weig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey. The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the family Vespidae and are eusocial, living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other. However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding independently. Females typically have an oviposit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batesian Mimicry
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, who worked on butterflies in the rainforests of Brazil. Batesian mimicry is the most commonly known and widely studied of mimicry complexes, such that the word mimicry is often treated as synonymous with Batesian mimicry. There are many other forms however, some very similar in principle, others far separated. It is often contrasted with Müllerian mimicry, a form of mutually beneficial convergence between two or more harmful species. However, because the mimic may have a degree of protection itself, the distinction is not absolute. It can also be contrasted with functionally different forms of mimicry. Perhaps the sharpest contrast here is with aggressive mimicry where a predator or parasite mimics a harmless species, avoiding detection and improving its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles, middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which their ancestors Genetic divergence, diverged in the Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,640 Neontology#Extant taxon, extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 27 Order (biology), orders. The study of mammals is called mammalogy. The largest orders of mammals, by number of species, are the rodents, bats, and eulipotyphlans (including hedgehogs, Mole (animal), moles and shrews). The next three are the primates (including humans, monkeys and lemurs), the Artiodactyl, even-toed ungulates (including pigs, camels, and whales), and the Carnivora (including Felidae, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aphid
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly aphids. A typical life cycle involves flightless females giving Viviparity, live birth to female Nymph (biology), nymphs—who may also be already Pregnancy, pregnant, an adaptation scientists call telescoping generations—without the involvement of males. Developmental biology, Maturing rapidly, females breed profusely so that the number of these insects multiplies quickly. Alate, Winged females may develop later in the season, allowing the insects to colonize new plants. In Temperate climate, temperate regions, a phase of sexual reproduction occurs in the autumn, with the insects often overwintering as eggs. The life cycle of some species involves an alternation between two species of host plants, for example between an annual crop and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of . Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of . Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual Climate of Antarctica#Precipitation, precipitation of over along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost . Antarctica holds the record for the Lowest temperature recorded on Earth, lowest measured temperature on Earth, . The coastal regions can reach temperatures over in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. Phylogeneti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovipositing
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typically its form is adapted to functions such as preparing a place for the egg, transmitting the egg, and then placing it properly. For most insects, the organ is used merely to attach the egg to some surface, but for many parasitic species (primarily in wasps and other Hymenoptera), it is a piercing organ as well. Some ovipositors only retract partly when not in use, and the basal part that sticks out is known as the scape, or more specifically oviscape, the word ''scape'' deriving from the Latin word , meaning "stalk" or "shaft". In insects Grasshoppers use their ovipositors to force a burrow into the earth to receive the eggs. Cicadas pierce the wood of twigs with their ovipositors to insert the eggs. Sawflies slit the tissues of p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
