The Tachiniscinae are a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

of the fruit fly family

Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus '' Drosophila'' (in the family Drosophilidae ...

. They are treated by some authorities as a separate family, Tachiniscidae. An undetermined species of the genus ''Tachiniscidia'' has been reared from

Saturniidae Saturniidae, members of which are commonly named the saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species. The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor m ...

caterpillars in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. The family Tachiniscidae was established by Kertész for a single species, ''Tachinisca cyaneiventris'' Kertész, 1903 from Peru and Bolivia. Kertész correctly placed that family in the “Muscidae acalyptratae”, in spite of its tachinid-like appearance. In the same year, Bischof described another genus, ''Bibundia'', with a single species, ''B. hermanni'' Bischof (from Central Africa), which he assigned to “Ortalidae”. Malloch described one more monotypic tachiniscid genus, ''Tachiniscidia'', with the type species ''T. africana'' Malloch from “Chirinda Forest, S. Rhodesia” (Zimbabwe). The only host data recorded for these three genera, or any other Tachiniscinae, is the mention of “''Anthophasia robertsi'' Cogan” (nomen nudum; listed by Cogan as an undescribed species of ''Bibundia'') reared from pupae of ''Bunaea alcinoe'' Stoll and ''Imbrasia obscura'' Butler (

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

) by Roberts (1969). The exact identity of the host species needs further investigation, as Cogan (1980: 555) stated that “A single specimen of a Bibundia species has been reared by Roberts (1969) from a caterpillar of a saturniid moth, ''Imbrasia nictitans'' Fabricius” (=''Imbrasia epimethea'' Drury). The genera and species currently placed in the tribe Ortalotrypetini were originally assigned to the family Tephritidae, and generally fit its diagnosis well. Hendel (1927) established the genus ''Ortalotrypeta'' with two species from China (Sichuan), ''O. gigas'' Hendel and ''O. idana'' Hendel, which he considered related to ''Acanthonevra'' Macquart and allied genera of fruit flies. Later, eight additional species from southeastern China and northern Vietnam. The genus ''Cyaphorma'' Wang 1989, very close to ''Ortalotrypeta'', was described from China (Wang, 1989). Ito (1983) established the tribe Ortalotrypetini in his key to genera of Japanese Tephritidae. He included the single genus ''Ortalotrypeta'' to separate it from genera of the tribe Acanthonevrini. The tribe was preliminarily revised by Norrbom. McAlpine (1989) presumed that the Tachiniscidae could be a sister-group of Pyrgotidae based only on their parasitic larval habits. Korneyev hypothesized that the highly specialized structure of female

ovipositor 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 typica ...

as a

synapomorphy In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel Phenotypic trait, character or character state that has evolution, evolved from its ancestral form (or Plesiomorphy and symplesiomorphy, plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy sh ...

of Ortalotrypetini and Tachiniscidae and joined them as a subfamily Tachiniscinae in the family

, as the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to other tephritid taxa. Korneyev & Norrbom summarized all the taxonomy data on the genera of the tribe. And later, Han & Ro provided the results of phylogeny reconstruction of the family Tephritidae (Diptera) from 12S, 16S, and COII mitochondrial gene fragments, which strongly supported the hypothesis of Tachiniscinae

monophyly In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent comm ...

and sister-group relationships to the remaining group of

than to Pyrgotidae.

Classification

Tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Ortalotrypetini: :* ''

Cyaforma ''Cyaforma'' is a genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the bi ...

'' :* ''

Ischyropteron ''Ischyropteron'' is a genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include th ...

'' :* ''

Neortalotrypeta ''Neortalotrypeta'' is a genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include ...

'' :* ''

Ortalotrypeta ''Ortalotrypeta'' is a genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include th ...

'' :* ''

Protortalotrypeta ''Protortalotrypeta'' is a monotypic genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does ...

'' * Tribe Tachiniscini: :* ''

Bibundia ''Bibundia'' is a genus of Tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the bio ...

'' :* ''

Tachinisca Tachinisca is a genus of Tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the biolo ...

'' :* ''

Tachiniscidia Tachiniscidia is a genus of Tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the bi ...

References

External links

Tephritidae Information from the Diptera Site
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15634804 Brachycera subfamilies