Oestroidea is a superfamily of

Calyptratae Calyptratae is a subsection of Schizophora in the insect order Diptera, commonly referred to as the calyptrate muscoids (or simply calyptrates). It consists of those flies which possess a calypter that covers the halteres, among which are some ...

that includes the blow flies, bot flies, flesh flies, and their relatives. It occurs worldwide and has about 15,000 described species.

Evolution and phylogeny

The earliest known fossil of Oestroidea is of a Mesembrinellidae found in Dominican amber from the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. The Oestroidea in general are believed to have originated 48.2 million years ago. The superfamily includes the families: *

Calliphoridae The Calliphoridae (commonly known as blowflies, blow flies, blow-flies, carrion flies, bluebottles, or greenbottles) are a family of insects in the order Diptera, with almost 1,900 known species. The maggot larvae, often used as fishing bait, ...

* Mesembrinellidae (formerly included in Calliphoridae) * Mystacinobiidae *

Oestridae Botflies, also known as warble flies, heel flies, and gadflies, are flies of the family Oestridae. Their larvae are internal parasites of mammals, some species growing in the host's flesh and others within the gut. ''Dermatobia hominis'' is t ...

* Polleniidae (formerly included in Calliphoridae) *

Rhiniidae Rhiniidae is a family of flies in the order Diptera, and formerly included in the Calliphoridae. There are around 30 genera and 370 described species in Rhiniidae. Genera These genera belong to the family Rhiniidae: *'' Albaredaya'' Peris, 195 ...

(formerly included in Calliphoridae) * Sarcophagidae * Tachinidae *

Ulurumyiidae ''Ulurumyia macalpinei'' is a species of fly in the superfamily Oestroidea endemic to Australia. It is the only species of genus ''Ulurumyia'', which in turn is the only genus of family Ulurumyiidae, making the latter two taxa monotypic. It was f ...

Historically, Oestroidea was considered 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 ...

Muscoidea Muscoidea is a superfamily of flies in the subsection Calyptratae. Muscoidea, with approximately 7000 described species, is nearly 5% of the known species level diversity of the Diptera, the true flies. Most muscoid flies are saprophagous, copr ...

. A 2012 molecular analysis placed Oestroidea within a paraphyletic Muscoidea, and also confirmed the

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 ...

of Oestroidea and of most of its families (except Calliphoridae). Morphological and molecular analyses in 2017 yielded overall similar results. Relationships among the families and subfamilies within Oestroidea are complicated and not well resolved.

Ecology

Oestroidea have a wide range of feeding habits and breeding environments: saprophagous (many Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae), feeding on blood of birds or mammals (some Calliphoridae),

parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...

of gastropods or earthworms (some Calliphoridae), parasitoids of arthropods (Rhinophoridae, Tachinidae and some Sarcophagidae), living in association with termites or ants (some Calliphoridae and Rhiniidae), and commensals of bats (Mystacinobiidae). Various species of Calliphoridae, Oestridae and Sarcophagidae have larvae that parasitise vertebrates, causing

myiasis Myiasis ( ), also known as flystrike or fly strike, is the parasitic infestation of the body of a live animal by fly larvae (maggots) that grow inside the host while feeding on its Biological tissue, tissue. Although flies are most commonly attr ...

Forensic entomology

Many species of Oestroidea are of forensic importance due to feeding on decomposing animals, including humans.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1617275 Diptera superfamilies