Athericidae is a small
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of
flies
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...
known as water snipe flies or ibis flies. They used to be placed in the family
Rhagionidae, but were removed by Stuckenberg in 1973. They are now known to be more closely related to Tabanidae. Species of Athericidae are found worldwide.
Ecology
The adults mostly feed on nectar but some species feed on
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 ...
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells.
Blood is com ...
.
Hematophagy
Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the practice by certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words αἷμα ' "blood" and φαγεῖν ' "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious ...
has been demonstrated in adult ''Suragina'' and ''Suraginella'' and is suspected in other genera. Larvae do not feed in the first instar; after first molting, they become predatory. Larvae typically prey on invertebrates or are saprophagous.
The larvae have distinctive morphology. Their head capsule is well developed dorsally, and they have long abdominal
proleg
A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on larvae of insects such as symphyta, sawflies. In ...
s with crocheted hooks. These structures help the larvae move without being washed away in their preferred larval habitat, fast-flowing montane streams and
torrents. The larvae are predators of other aquatic invertebrates such as
caddisflies
The caddisflies (order Trichoptera) are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis ...
. Adults have stout, tapered abdomens, slightly elongated legs, with aristate antennae. Males are sexually dimorphic with holoptic eyes.
Adult athericids usually rest on the upper surface of leaves, near the streams from which they emerge, or more inland if they are looking for a blood meal. Athericids commonly stroke or palpate the surface of leaves, an action they share with the Tabanidae. All species deposit their eggs at one time and then die.
Subfamilies and genera
Two subfamilies are described; the Dasyommatinae contain only ''
Dasyomma'' and all other extant genera are in the Athericinae.
*
Dasyommatinae
**''
Dasyomma''
Macquart, 1840
*
Athericinae
**''
Asuragina''
Yang & Nagatomi, 1992
**''
Atherix''
Meigen, 1803
**''
Atrichops''
Verrall, 1909
**''
Microphora''
Krober, 1840
**''
Pachybates''
Bezzi, 1926
**''
Suragina''
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
* ...
, 1858
**''
Suraginella''
Stuckenberg, 2000
**''
Trichacantha''
Stuckenberg, 1955
**''
Xeritha''
Stuckenberg, 1966
**''
Athericites''
Mostovski, Jarzembowski & Coram, 2003
**''
Succinatherix''
Stuckenberg, 1974 Baltic amber
Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...
, Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
References
* https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233727146_60_Diptera_Athericidae
* http://www.waterbugkey.vcsu.edu/php/familydetail.php?idnum=7&show=1508&fa=Athericidae&o=Diptera&ls=larvae
* http://www.periodico.ebras.bio.br/ojs/index.php/ebras/article/view/25/44
* http://bugguide.net/node/view/12756
External links
Catalogue of LifeBiolib
Brachycera families
Taxa named by Brian Roy Stuckenberg
Brachycera
{{Tabanoidea-stub