The Apioceridae, or flower-loving flies, are a small (about 150 species) family of flies, all in the single genus ''Apiocera''. They occur mostly in dry, sandy habitats in the deserts of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, South America, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Other genera formerly placed in Apioceridae are now in

Mydidae The Mydidae (sometimes misspelled as Mydaidae), or Mydas flies, are a cosmopolitan family of flies. It is a small family, with about 471 species described. They are generally large in size, including the largest known fly, '' Gauromydas heros'' ( ...

Diversity and biogeography

The roughly 150 species of ''Apiocera'' are divided into four subgenera, each restricted to a different continent. '' Apiocera'' is found in

, '' Ripidosyrma'' in southern Africa, '' Pyrocera'' in

, and '' Anypenus'' in South America.

Biology

''Apiocera'' species are found in sandy, arid and semiarid habitats. Despite the common name, most ''Apiocera'' species never visit flowers, but rather are found running on the ground near sparse vegetation, or feeding on honeydew beneath aphid-infested plants. They are often seen drinking from damp sand with their sponge-like

mouthparts Mouthparts may refer to: * The parts of a mouth ** Arthropod mouthparts *** Insect mouthparts {{disambig ...

. The larvae of ''

Apiocera maritima The Apioceridae, or flower-loving flies, are a small (about 150 species) family of flies, all in the single genus ''Apiocera''. They occur mostly in dry, sandy habitats in the deserts of North America, South America, and Australia. Other genera ...

'' are found in sand near the high-water mark of coastal beaches.

Species

This section contains a list of 138 species: *'' A. acuticauda'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. acutipalpis'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. afacialis'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. alastor'' ( Walker, 1849) *'' A. albanyana'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. aldrichi'' Painter, 1936 *'' A. aliena'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. alleni'' Cazier, 1941 *'' A. ammophila'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. angusta'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. antennata'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. arena'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. arnaudi'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. asilica'' Westwood, 1835 *'' A. asiloides'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. augur''

Osten Sacken The House von der Osten-Sacken is an old and distinguished noble family of Baltic Germans. The family members held the titles of ''Baron'', ''Graf'', ''Knyaz'' and ''Fürst''. History The origins of the family are traced to 14th century. In 16 ...

, 1886 *'' A. aurelia'' Artigas, 1970 *'' A. auripilosa'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. australis'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. badipeniculata'' Yeates, 1994 *'' A. barri'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. basivillosa'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. beameri'' Painter, 1936 *'' A. bibula'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. bigelowi'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. bigotii'' ( Macquart, 1847) *'' A. bilineata'' Painter, 1932 *'' A. braunsi'' Melander, 1907 *'' A. brevicornis'' (

Wiedemann Wiedemann is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Barbara Wiedemann (born 1945), American poet * Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann (1770–1840), German physician, historian, naturalist *Elisabeth Wiedemann (1926-2015), Ger ...

, 1830) *'' A. caboae'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. calida'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. caloris'' Painter, 1936 *'' A. campbelli'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. canuta'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. cerata'' Paramonov, 1961 *'' A. chiltonae'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. chrysolasia'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. clavator'' Painter, 1936 *'' A. commoni'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. constricta'' Cazier, 1985 *'' A. contrasta'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. convergens'' Painter, 1936 *'' A. davidsonorum'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. deforma'' Norris, 1936 *'' A. deserticola'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. draperae'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. elegans'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. englishae'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. excepta'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. exta'' Cazier, 1941 *'' A. fallax'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. fasciata'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. femoralis'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. ferruginea'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. fisheri'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. flabellata'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. foleyi'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. franckei'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. fullerae'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. goerlingi'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. hamata'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. hardyi'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. haruspex''

, 1877 *'' A. helenae'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. hispida'' Cazier, 1941 *'' A. horticolis'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. immedia''

Hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, Sout ...

, 1940 *'' A. imminuta''

, 1940 *'' A. infinita'' Cazier, 1941 *'' A. interrupta'' Painter, 1936 *'' A. intonsa'' Cazier, 1941 *'' A. latifrons'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. latipennis'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. lavignei'' Cazier, 1985 *'' A. linsleyi'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. longicauda'' Paramonov, 1961 *'' A. longitudinalis'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. lugubris'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. mackerrasi'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. macswaini'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. maritima''

, 1933 *'' A. maxima'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. melanura'' Cazier, 1941 *'' A. mexicana'' Cazier, 1954 *'' A. minckleyi'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. minor'' Norris, 1936 *'' A. moderata'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. moerens'' Westwood, 1841 *'' A. monticola'' Artigas, 1970 *'' A. mortensoni'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. mulegeae'' Cazier, 1985 *'' A. newmani'' Norris, 1936 *'' A. nicholsoni'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. norrisi''

, 1940 *'' A. norrisiana'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. notata'' Painter, 1936 *'' A. oblonga'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. obscura'' (

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...

, 1865) *'' A. ogradyi'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. omniflava'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. ordana'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. orientalis'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. ornata'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. painteri'' Cazier, 1963 *'' A. pallida'' Norris, 1936 *'' A. parahydra'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. parkeri'' Cazier, 1941 *'' A. pearcei'' Cazier, 1941 *'' A. philippii'' Brethes, 1924 *'' A. pica'' Norris, 1936 *'' A. picoides'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. pilosoris'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. powelli'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. pruinosa'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. pulcherrima'' Paramonov, 1961 *'' A. pulchra'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. reginae'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. rockefelleri'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. rubrifasciata'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. septentrionalis'' Paramonov, 1953 *''

A. similis A is the first letter of the Latin and English alphabet. A may also refer to: Science and technology Quantities and units * ''a'', a measure for the attraction between particles in the Van der Waals equation * A value, ''A'' value, a mea ...

'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. sonorae'' Cazier, 1954 *'' A. spectabilis'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. striativentris'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. swani'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. sylvestris'' Cazier, 1982 *'' A. tonnoiri'' Norris, 1936 *'' A. trimaculata'' Painter, 1936 *'' A. tropica'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. unicolor'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. varia'' Cazier, 1985 *'' A. vespera'' Paramonov, 1953 *'' A. victoriae'' Paramonov, 1953 *''Apiocera volucra, A. volucra'' Cazier, 1982 *''Apiocera voragocolis, A. voragocolis'' Cazier, 1982 *''Apiocera vulpes, A. vulpes'' Hermann, 1909 *''Apiocera warneri, A. warneri'' Cazier, 1985 *''Apiocera wilcoxi, A. wilcoxi'' Cazier, 1982

References

External links

*
Apioceridae from Brisbane
2009-10-25)
www.mydidae.tdvia.de
Website von Torsten Dikow (in English)
Torsten Dikow: New insight on the phylogenetic relationships within Mydidae and its relationship to ApioceridaeRobert A. Cannings: A review of the distribution and natural history of ''Apiocera barri'' and ''Nemomydas pantherinus''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5318516 Asiloidea genera Asiloidea