Pipunculidae is a

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 ...

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 ...

(Diptera) commonly termed big-headed flies, a reference to the large ( holoptic) eyes, which cover nearly the entire head. The family is found worldwide and more than 1300

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

have been described. The

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 of Pipunculidae develop as parasitoids almost exclusively in Auchenorrhyncha, the exception being the genus '' Nephrocerus'', whose hosts are adult Tipulidae (crane flies). The larvae develop rapidly within the crane flies before pupating in the soil. In all pipunculids there are only two larval stages. Some species are used as

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...

agents in

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

fields.

Evolution

Molecular analysis show that Pipunculidae appeared in the

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...

age of the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

. The oldest

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s of this group were found in the

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 ...

formations. North American '' Metanephrocerus belgardeae'' and '' Priabona florissantius'' were collected from the

Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

and

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage ...

deposits, respectively. Younger specimens of Pipunculidae were discovered in 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 ...

Dominican amber.

Taxonomy

Taxonomy as shown at the

Tree of life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

,Pipunculidae at the Tree of life
/ref> with modification based on Kehlmaier, Dierick and Skevington (2014). The name Pipunculidae is derived from the type genus '' Pipunculus'' which is thought to be derived from Latin ''pepo'' for pumpkin, thus pipunculus would mean "little pumpkin", referring to the large heads. Subfamily Chalarinae * Genus '' Chalarus'' Walker, 1834 * Genus '' Jassidophaga'' Aczél, 1939 * Genus '' Protoverrallia'' Aczél, 1948

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 ...

(

) * Genus '' Verrallia'' Mik, 1899 Subfamily Nephrocerinae * Tribe Nephrocerini ** Genus '' Nephrocerus'' Zetterstedt, 1838 * Tribe ''incertae sedis'' ** Genus '' Priabona'' Archibald, Kehlmaier & Mathewes, 2014 Florissant Formation, Eocene (Priabonian) Subfamily Protonephrocerinae * Genus '' Protonephrocerus'' Collin, 1931 * Genus '' Metanephrocerus''

Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

& Hull, 1939 Klondike Mountain Formation,Washington, Eocene (

) Baltic amber Eocene (Priabonian) Subfamily Pipunculinae * Tribe Cephalopsini ** Genus '' Cephalops'' Fallén, 1810 ** Genus '' Cephalosphaera'' Enderlein, 1936 * Tribe Microcephalopsini ** Genus '' Collinias'' Aczél, 1940 ** Genus '' Microcephalops'' De Meyer, 1989 * Tribe Eudorylini ** Genus '' Allomethus'' Hardy, 1943 ** Genus '' Amazunculus'' Rafael, 1986 ** Genus '' Basileunculus'' Rafael, 1987 ** Genus '' Claraeola'' Aczél, 1940 ** Genus '' Clistoabdominalis'' Skevington, 2001 ** Genus '' Dasydorylas'' Skevington, 2001 ** Genus '' Elmohardyia'' Rafael, 1987 ** Genus '' Eudorylas'' Aczél, 1940 * Tribe Tomosvaryellini ** Genus '' Dorylomorpha'' Aczél, 1939 ** Genus '' Tomosvaryella'' Aczél, 1939 * Tribe Pipunculini ** Genus '' Pipunculus'' Latreille, 1802

Gallery

Wing venation of Pipunculidae.JPG, Typical wing venation of Pipunculidae Metanephrocerus belgardeae SR 08-06-02 01.jpg, '' Metanephrocerus belgardeae'', Protonephrocerinae Nephrocerus scutellatus, crop.jpg, '' Nephrocerus scutellatus'',
Nephrocerinae Eudorylas ruralis.jpg, '' Clistoabdominalis ruralis'', Eudorylini, Pipunculinae

References

External links

Kehlmaier on Pipunculidae
Dedicated site
Scientific paper on Pipunculidae with structural diagramsImages at BugGuideGallery at Diptera.infoFamily Pipunculidae at EOL
Image Gallery
West Palaearctic including Russia JapanWorld list
{{Authority control Brachycera families Taxa named by Francis Walker (entomologist)

Evolution

Taxonomy

Gallery

See also

References

External links