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Diptera

Encyclopedia : D : DI : DIP : Diptera

Diptera (di - two, ptera - wings), or true flies, is the order of insects in which there is only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 200,000 species, although under half of these (about 85,000 species) have been described. It is one of the major insect orders both in terms of ecological and human (medical and economic) importance. The Diptera, in particular the Culicidae, are of phenomenal historical and current importance as disease transmitters. The study of the Diptera is called dipterology.

Diptera include flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges. In compound names containing "fly" for members of this order, the name is normally written as two words, as in "crane fly", though there are a few historical exceptions, such as "sandfly" and "blackfly". For insects that are members of other orders the name should always be written as a single word as in "butterfly", "scorpionfly", etc.

Diptera are a very diverse order with many different ecological roles. Diptera may be predaceous, herbivorous, endo- and ectoparasitic, saprophagous, necrophagous, etc. Various species are secondarily wingless (especially in the superfamily Hippoboscoidea, or those that are inquilines in social insect colonies).

Contents

Anatomy

CSIRO present an [introduction to the external anatomy of the Diptera]

Classification overview

There are two generally accepted suborders of Diptera. The Nematocera are usually recognized by their elongated bodies and feathery antennae as represented by mosquitoes and crane flies. The Brachycera tend to have a more roundly proportioned body and very short antennae. A more recent classification has been proposed in which the Nematocera is split into two suborders, the Archidiptera and the Eudiptera, but this has not yet gained widespread acceptance among dipterists.

  1. Suborder Nematocera – long antennae, pronotum distinct from mesonotum. In Nematocera larvae are either eucephalic or hemicephalic and often aquatic.
  2. Suborder Brachycera – short antennae, the pupa is inside a puparium formed from the last larval skin. Brachycera are generally robust flies with larvae having reduced mouthparts.
  3. #Infraorders Tabanomorpha and Asilomorpha – these comprise the majority of what was the Orthorrhapha under older classification schemes. The antennae are short, but differ in structure from those of the Muscomorpha.
  4. #Infraorder Muscomorpha – (largely the Cyclorrhapha of older schemes). Muscomorpha have 3-segmented, aristate (with a bristle) antennae and larvae with three instars that are acephalic (maggots).
Most of the Muscomorpha are further subdivided into the Acalyptratae and Calyptratae based on whether or not they have a calypter (a wing flap that extends over the halteres).

Beyond that, considerable revision in the taxonomy of the flies has taken place since the introduction of modern cladistic techniques, and much remains uncertain. The secondary ranks between the suborders and the families are more out of practical or historical considerations than out of any strict respect for phylogenetic classifications. (Modern cladists tend to spurn the use of Linnaean rank names.) Nearly all classifications in use now, including this article, contain some paraphyletic groupings; this is emphasized where the numerous alternative systems are most greatly at odds.

Current suborders and families

There are two suborders: the Nematocera divided into 77 families of which 35 are extinct ( fossil only ) and the Brachycera with 141 families of which 8 are extinct. See Families of Diptera.

Obsolete names in Diptera

There are many names at the family level or above that have been used historically, even some of recent vintage, that are already obsolete or simply not recognized or universally accepted by the dipterological community. For a rather exhaustive list of such names (esp. for those readers who may be wondering why they cannot find a familiar name), please see the List of obsolete names in Diptera.

References

Biology

Classification

A very well-researched reference list of works on the Phylogeny (Classification and Identification of Diptera) is provided by Thompson as a pdf [link]

Evolution

Blagoderov, V.A., Lukashevich, E.D. & Mostovski, M.B. 2002. [Order Diptera]. In: Rasnitsyn, A.P. and Quicke, D.L.J. The History of Insects, Kluwer Publ., Dordrecht, Boston, London, pp. 227-240.

Identification

(Nasekomye dvukrylye) Chief Editor: B.E. Bykhovskii; Editorial board: I.M. Gromov, A.S. Monchadskii, A .A. Shtakel’berg, 0-A. Skarlato, and A.A. Strelkov (Volume editor) Izdatel’stvo “Nauka”Leningradskoe Otdelenie Leningrad (St. Petersburg). In Russian but with very useful figures. Some parts have been translated. Can anyone add a full list and availalibility details?

Famous Dipterists

A list of famous Dipterists, the term for entomologists who specialised in the order Diptera, is found under [Dipterists] Early entomologists who described Diptera as parts of general entomological works are listed under Entomologists examples are:

External links

Image:diptera_02gg.jpg|Calliphoridae - greenbottle fly Image:diptera_01gg.jpg|Sarcophagidae - flesh fly Image:diptera_03gg.jpg|Muscidae - lesser house fly Image:Golden-green-fly.jpg|Dolichopodidae - longlegged fly

 

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