''Ptecticus'' is an

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by th ...

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 hindwing ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Stratiomyidae The soldier flies (Stratiomyidae, sometimes misspelled as Stratiomyiidae, from Greek - soldier; - fly) are a family of flies (historically placed in the now-obsolete group Orthorrhapha). The family contains over 2,700 species in over 380 exta ...

. The ground colour of the body may be yellow, brown or black, and the abdomen often shows a degree of transverse stripes. They may mimic

parasitic wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps ( Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later cau ...

s in appearance and habits. The wings are often dusky and the second abdominal segment may be translucent. A well-developed inner projection of the second antennal segment is characteristic for the majority of ''Ptecticus'' species. Their larvae are broad, flat and segmented

maggots A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and crane flies. Entomol ...

, which may be found in fermenting fruit. As of 2000, 40 species were known from the Old World alone. There are at least 150 described species in ''Ptecticus'' worldwide.

References

Stratiomyidae Brachycera genera Taxa named by Hermann Loew Diptera of North America Diptera of South America Diptera of Asia Diptera of Africa Diptera of Australasia {{Stratiomyidae-stub

See also

References