''Pherbellia'' is a genus 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 ...

in the family

Sciomyzidae The family (biology), family Sciomyzidae belongs to the typical flies (Brachycera) of the order (biology), order Fly, Diptera. They are commonly called marsh flies, and in some cases snail-killing flies due to the food of their larvae. Here, t ...

, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies. They occur throughout the world, except for the

Subantarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a physiographic region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46th parallel south, 46° and 60th parallel south, 60° south of t ...

region. Like many Sciomyzidae, species of this genus have

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e that are predators or

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

s of

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

s. The larva of ''P. albovaria'', for example, eats

land snail A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have gastropod shell, shel ...

s such as '' Anguispira alternata'' and '' A. fergusoni'', and then pupates in the empty shell. The ''P. albocostata'' larva eats up to five snails and then pupates in the ground litter next to the last empty shell. The larva of ''P. inflexa'' attacks the glass snail ''

Zonitoides arboreus ''Zonitoides arboreus'', commonly known as the quick gloss snail, is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Gastrodontidae. Distribution The native distribution ...

''. ''P. punctata'' is a parasitoid on the amber snail ''

Succinea putris ''Succinea putris'' is a species of small air-breathing land snail in the family (biology), family Succineidae, the amber snails. Description The 10-17 (27) x 6-8 mm shell has 3-4 whorls. These are relatively flat and with shallow sutur ...

''. ''P. anubis'' larvae feed on several types of

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks that live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs t ...

s along the edges of ponds and

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es. Several ''Pherbellia'' are predators of the pond snail ''

Stagnicola palustris ''Stagnicola palustris'' is a species of air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic animal, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Lymnaeidae, the pond snails. MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Stagnicola palustris (O. F. Mülle ...

''. While most snail-killing flies target land and freshwater pulmonate snails, ''P. prefixa'' preys on the mossy valvata (''Valvata sincera''), which is an operculate snail in the valve snail family. As of 2012 there were about 95 species in the genus.

Species

Species in this genus include:''Pherbellia''.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). *Subgenus '' Chetocera'' Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 :*'' P. albicarpa'' (

Rondani Rondani is an Italian surname. Notable people having this name include: * Camillo Rondani, (1808–1879), an Italian entomologist noted for his studies of Diptera * Giovanni Maria Francesco Rondani Giovanni Maria Francesco Rondani (15 July 1490 � ...

, 1868) :*'' P. albocostata'' ( Fallén, 1820) :*'' P. albovaria'' ( Coquillett, 1901) :*'' P. alpina'' (

Frey Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especi ...

, 1930) :*'' P. annulipes'' (

Zetterstedt Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt (20 May 1785 – 23 December 1874) was a Swedish naturalist who worked mainly on Diptera and Hymenoptera. Biography Zetterstedt studied at the University of Lund, where he was a pupil of Anders Jahan Retzius. He receiv ...

, 1846) :*'' P. anubis'' Knutson, 1969 :*'' P. argyrotarsis'' (

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany, it can also derive from th ...

, 1908) :*'' P. austera'' (

Meigen Johann Wilhelm Meigen (3 May 1764 – 11 July 1845) was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera. Life Early years Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha ...

, 1830) :*'' P. czernyi'' ( Hendel, 1902) :*'' P. dorsata'' (

, 1846) :*'' P. dubia'' ( Fallén, 1820) :*'' P. fisheri'' Orth, 1987 :*'' P. footei'' Steyskal, 1961 :*'' P. griseicollis'' (

, 1900) :*'' P. griseola'' ( Fallén, 1820) :*'' P. hackmani'' Rozkosny, 1982 :*'' P. hermonensis'' Knutson & Freidberg, 1983 :*'' P. idahoensis'' Steyskal, 1961 :*'' P. inclusa'' ( Wollaston, 1858) :*'' P. melanderi'' Steyskal, 1963 :*'' P. nana'' ( Fallén, 1820) :*'' P. obscura'' (Ringdahl, 1948) :*'' P. obtusa'' ( Fallén, 1820) :*'' P. oregona'' Steyskal, 1961 :*'' P. pallidiventris'' ( Fallén, 1820) :*'' P. pilosa'' ( Hendel, 1902) :*'' P. priscillae'' Knutson & Freidberg, 1983 :*'' P. quadrata'' Steyskal, 1961 :*'' P. rozkosnyi'' Verbeke, 1967 :*'' P. scutellaris'' (von Roser, 1840) :*'' P. seticoxa'' Steyskal, 1961 :*'' P. similis'' (Cresson, 1920) :*'' P. sordida'' ( Hendel, 1902) :*'' P. steyskali'' Rozkosny & Zuska, 1965 :*'' P. subtilis'' Orth & Steyskal, 1980 :*'' P. suspecta'' Orth & Steyskal, 1981 :*'' P. vitalis'' (Cresson, 1920) :*'' P. ventralis'' ( Fallén, 1820) *Subgenus '' Dictyomyza'' Enderlein, 1939 :*'' P. clathrata'' ( Loew, 1874) *Subgenus '' Ditaenia'' Hendel, 1902 :*'' P. cinerella'' ( Fallén, 1820) *Subgenus '' Graphomyzina'' Macquart, 1835 :*'' P. cingulata'' (Verbeke, 1950) :*'' P. costata'' (Verbeke, 1950) :*'' P. dives'' ( Bezzi, 1928) :*'' P. guttata'' ( Coquillett, 1901) :*'' P. javana'' Meijere, 1911 :*'' P. juxtajavana'' Knutson, Manguin & Orth, 1990 :*'' P. kivuana'' (Verbeke, 1950) :*'' P. limbata'' (

, 1830) :*'' P. trabeculata'' ( Loew, 1872) *Subgenus '' Oxytaenia''

Sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

, 1939 :*'' P. beatricis'' Steyskal, 1949 :*'' P. borea'' Orth, 1982 :*'' P. brunnipes'' (

, 1838) :*'' P. bryanti'' Steyskal, 1967 :*'' P. californica'' Orth, 1982 :*'' P. knutsoni'' Verbeke, 1967 :*'' P. marthae'' Orth, 1982 :*'' P. mikiana'' ( Hendel, 1900) :*'' P. pallidicarpa'' (

, 1868) :*'' P. paludum'' Orth, 1982 :*'' P. prefixa'' Steyskal, 1967 :*'' P. propages'' Steyskal, 1967 :*'' P. stackelbergi'' Elberg, 1965 :*'' P. ursilacus'' Orth, 1982 *Subgenus '' Pherbellia'' Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 :*'' P. schoenherri'' ( Fallén, 1826) *unplaced :*'' P. aloea'' Orth, 1983 :*'' P. argyra'' Verbeke, 1967 :*'' P. brevistriata'' Li, Yang & Gu, 2001 :*'' P. causta'' Hendel, 1913 :*'' P. chiloesis'' ( Malloch, 1933) :*'' P. dentata'' Merz & Rozkosny, 1995 :*'' P. ditoma'' Steyskal, 1956 :*'' P. evittata'' ( Malloch, 1933) :*'' P. frohnei'' Steyskal, 1963 :*'' P. garganica'' Rivosecchi, 1989 :*'' P. goberti'' ( Pandellé, 1902) :*'' P. guttipennis'' Hendel, 1932 :*'' P. inflexa'' Orth, 1983 :*'' P. koreana'' Rozkosny & Kozanek, 1989 :*'' P. krivosheinae'' Rozkosny & Knutson, 1991 :*'' P. kugleri'' Knutson, 1986 :*'' P. luctifera'' ( Loew, 1861) :*'' P. lutheri'' Rozkosny, 1982 :*'' P. majuscula'' (

, 1868) :*'' P. orientalis'' Rozkosny & Knutson, 1991 :*'' P. ozerovi'' Rozkosny, 1991 :*'' P. phela'' Steyskal, 1963 :*'' P. philippii'' ( Malloch, 1933) :*'' P. shatalkini'' Rozkosny, 1991 :*'' P. silana'' Rivosecchi, 1989 :*'' P. spectabilis'' Orth, 1984 :*'' P. tenuipes'' ( Loew, 1872) :*'' P. terminalis'' (

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) :*'' P. tricolor'' Sueyoshi, 2001 :*'' P. vittigera'' ( Malloch, 1933)

References

{{Authority control Sciomyzidae Articles containing video clips Sciomyzoidea genera Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Robineau-Desvoidy