Sarcophagidae () are 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 ...

commonly known as flesh flies. They differ from most flies in that they are

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparity, oviparous and live-bearing viviparity, viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develo ...

, opportunistically depositing hatched or hatching

maggot 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, hoverflies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and cr ...

s instead of eggs on

carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

, dung, decaying material, or open wounds of mammals, hence their common name. Some flesh fly larvae are internal

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 other insects such as

Orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – gras ...

, and some, in particular the Miltogramminae, are

kleptoparasite Kleptoparasitism (originally spelt clepto-parasitism, meaning "parasitism by theft") is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is Evolutionarily stable strategy, evolutionarily stable when stealin ...

s of solitary

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

. The adults mostly feed on fluids from animal bodies, nectar, sweet foods, fluids from animal waste and other organic substances. Juveniles need protein to develop and may be laid on carrion, dung or sweet plant foods (including fruit, nuts, and artificial foodstuffs).

Diagnostic characteristics

Members of the subfamily Sarcophaginae are small to large flies with black and gray longitudinal stripes on the

thorax The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

and checkering on the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

. Other key features include red eyes and a bristled abdomen. Abdominal sternites II and III are free and cover the margins of tergites. The posthumeral bristles are one or two in number, with the outermost pair missing. The presutural bristle is located lower than the notopleural bristle, and closer to the notopleural bristle than to the outermost posthumeral bristle. The presutural bristle is located higher than or level with the posthumeral bristle. The hindmost posthumeral bristle is located even with or toward the midline from the presutural bristle. Four notopleural bristles are present and arranged in the order - short, long, short, long - from front to rear. Vein M1 +2 (anterior transverse vein, medial vein 1+2 ) is always present, and the cubitulus is strongly bent at right angles or acute; vein Rs is dibranched. The eyes are smooth and very rarely hairy. The arista is plumose in its basal half, or rarely pubescent or glabrous.

Taxonomy

The family contains three

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zool ...

, the Miltogramminae, the Paramacronychiinae, and the Sarcophaginae, containing between them 108

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

. About 2500 species are in this family.

Biology

Sarcophaginae : The majority of species in the large genus ''

Sarcophaga ''Sarcophaga'' is a genus of true flies and the type genus of the flesh-fly family ( Sarcophagidae). The members of this cosmopolitan genus are frequently known as common flesh flies. There are more than 1000 species in ''Sarcophaga''. This ge ...

'' are

scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume Corpse decomposition, dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a he ...

s of small carrion, such as dead insects and snails or smaller vertebrates. A few species feed on larger vertebrate carcasses. Flesh fly maggots occasionally eat other larvae, although this is usually because the other larvae are smaller and get in the way. Flesh flies and their larvae are also known to eat decaying vegetable matter and

excrement Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

, and they may be found around

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...

piles and pit

latrine A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground ( pit latrine), or ...

s. Miltogramminae : Members of this subfamily are kleptoparasites of solitary bees and solitary wasps. Paramacronychiinae : This subfamily includes lepidopteran predators or parasitoids (''

Agria Agria () is a town and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 25.227 km2. It lies ...

''), predators on immatures (mainly prepupae) of bumblebees ('' Brachicoma'') and generalist scavengers and insect predators ('' Sarcophila'' and '' Wohlfahrtia'').

Association with disease

Flesh flies can carry

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

bacilli and can transmit intestinal pseudomyiasis to people who eat their larvae. Flesh flies, particularly ''

Wohlfahrtia magnifica ''Wohlfahrtia magnifica'', the spotted flesh fly, or sometimes called the screwworm fly, though species of flies from other families go by this name. It is a species of fly belonging to the family Sarcophagidae . The adults are about 6–10 ...

'', can also cause

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 ...

in animals, mostly to sheep, and can give them

blood poisoning 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 compo ...

, or asymptomatic leprosy infections.

Identification

Generally, only males of this family can reliably be identified to species, and then only by examination of dissected genitalia. The literature is incomplete or scattered for all regions. References include: * Rokuro Kano; Gordon Field; Satoshi Shinonaga ''Fauna Japonica: Sarcophagidae (Insecta: Diptera)'' Biogeographical Society of Japan; distributor: Tokyo Electrical Engineering College Press, 1967.In English. * Downes, W. L., Jr. ''Family Sarcophagidae'' in Stone, A. et al. ''A catalog of the Diptera of America north of Mexico'' United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 1965. * Lehrer, A.Z. . ''Sarcophaginae et Paramacronychiinae du Proche Orient (Insecta, Diptera, Sarcophagidae''). Pensoft Series Faunistica 60, ISSN 1312-0174. , Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 165x240, keys, species descriptions, b/w drawings and photos, references, index. In French.(2006). * Lehrer, A.Z., ''Sarcophaginae de l'Afrique (Insecta, Diptera, Sarcophagidae)'' In: Entomologica, Bari, 37(2003):5-528 (in French) * Lehrer, A.Z., ''Taxonomic Atlas of the postabdominal structures Sarcophagidae (Insecta, Diptera). Vol. 1'' In: Entomologica, Bari, 42 (2010):3-459. * Pape, T. ''The Sarcophagidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark''.

Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica ''Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica'' is a scientific book series of entomology, entomological identification manuals for insects (and other terrestrial arthropods) in North-West Europe, mainly Fennoscandia and Denmark. The series is used by a numb ...

, 19 . Hardback 203 pp., 2 col. plates, 424 figures, in English, 1987. * Pape, T. 1998. Sarcophagidae. - pp. 649–678 in: Papp, L. & Darvas, B. (eds), Contributions to a manual of Palaearctic/European Diptera. Science Herald; Budapest. * Pape, T. 1996. Catalogue of the Sarcophagidae of the world (Insecta: Diptera).''Memoirs of Entomology International'' 8: 1–558. * Rohdendorf, B. B. ''Family Sarcophagidae'' in Bei-Bienko, G. Ya. ''Keys to the Insects of the European part of the USSR'' Fauna SSR (NS) 12: xv, 1–496. n Russian; English translation 1988, pp. 1021–1096; Washington, D.C.* Rohdendorf, B. B., 1930-1975 ''Sarcophaginae'', in Lindner, E. ''Fliegen die Palaearktischen Region''. 11 64h, 1–232;1985, 64h. ''Sarcophaginae'' (Lieferung 330) 1–297;1993 64h. ''Sarcophaginae'' (Lieferung 331) 1–441, 90 Abbildungen (figures). * Venturi, F., 1960. Sistematica e geonemia dei Sarcofagidi (escl. Sarcophaga s.l.) italiani (Diptera). ''Frustula Entomologica'', 2 (7): 1–124. * Verves, Yu.G., 1986. ''Family Sarcophagidae''. In: Soós Á. & Papp L. (eds.), ''Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera'', 12. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest - Elsevier, Amsterdam: 58-193

Catalogues

* Pape, T. 1996. Catalogue of the Sarcophagidae of the world (Insecta: Diptera). ''Memoirs of Entomology International'' 8: 1–558. * Lehrer, A.Z., 2000, Le système taxonomique des Sarcophaginae afrotropicales (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Entomologica, Bari, 34:41-63. * Lehrer, A.Z., 2003, Sarcophaginae de l'Afrique (Insecta, Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Entomologica, Bari, 37:5-528.

Principal bibliographic sources

* Baranov, N. (1925), Neue Dipteren aus Serbien. – Let. Pol. Odl. Kontr. Sta. Topcideru, Belgrad, 1:1-11. * Baranov, N. (1941), Zweiter Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Gattung Sarcophaga (s.l.). Vet. Arh., 11:361-404 n Croatian and German * Becker, T. (1908), Dipteren der Kanarischen Inseln. Mitt. zool. Mus. Berlin, 4:1-180. * Böttcher, G. (1912), Die männlichen Begattungswerkzeuge der Arten bei dem Genus Sarcophaga Meigen. und ihre Bedeutung für die Abgrenzung der Arten. Dtsch. ent. Z., 525–544, 705–736. * Bôttcher, G. (1913), Die männlichen Begattungswerkzeuge der Arten bei dem Genus Sarcophaga Meigen. und ihre Bedeutung für die Abgrenzung der Arten. Dtsch. ent. Z., 1-16, 115–130, 239–254, 351–377. * Brauer, F. & Bergenstamm, J.E., (1889), Die Zweiflügler des Keiserlichen zu Wien. IV. Vorarbeiten zu einer Monographie der Muscaria Schizometopa (exclusive Anthomyidae). Pars I. Denkschr. Akad. Wiss., Wien, 56:69-180. * Brauer, F. & Bergenstamm, J.E., (1891), Die Zweiflügler des Keiserlichen zu Wien. V. Vorarbeiten zu einer Monographie der Muscaria Schizometopa (exclusive Anthomyidae). Pars II. Denkschr. Akad. Wiss., Wien, 58:39-446. * Enderlein, G. (1928a), Klassification der Sarcophagiden. Sarcophagiden-Studien I. Arch. klassifik. phylogeny. Ent., 1:1-56. * Enderlein, G. (1928b), Sarcophgiden-Studien II. Konowia, 7:147-153. * Enderlein, G. (1936), 22. Ordnung: Zweiflügler, Diptera. Die Tierwelt Mitteleuropas. Vol. 6, Insekten, Teil III, Abt. 16:1-259. * Fan, Zi-De (1965), Key to the common synanthropic flies of China. Academy of Sciences, Peking, XV + 1–330. * Fan Zi-De (ed.), 1992, Key to the common flies of China. Second Edition. Shanghai Institute of Entomology, Academia Sinica. 992p + 40 pl. * Kano, R., Flield, G. & Shinonaga, S. (1967), Sarcophagidae (Insecta: Diptera). Fauna Japonica 7:1-168 + 41 pls. * Lehrer, A.Z., (1974), Diptères myiasigènes de la superfamille Sarcophagidea de Roumanie. Acta Rer. Nat. Mus. Nat. Slov., Bratislava, 20:125-159. * Lehrer, A.Z., (2000a). Le système taxonomique des Sarcophaginae afrotropicales (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Entomologica, Bari, 34:41-63. * Lehrer, A.Z. (2000b), La structure de l’abdomen des Sarcophaginae (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Entomologica, Bari, 34:153-169. * Lehrer, A.Z., (2003a), Revision du genre Wohlfahrtia Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1889 de la faune d’Israël (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Entomol. Croat., 7, nr. 1-2: 15–33. * Lehrer, A.Z., (2003b), Sarcophaginae de l’Afrique (Insecta, Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Entomologica, Bari, 37 :5-528. * Lehrer, A.Z., (2005), Nouveaux Sarcophagides afrotropicaux et orientaux (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Entomologica, Bari, 39,:5-59. * Lehrer, A.Z., 2006, Sarcophaginae et Paramacronychiinae du Proche Orient (Insecta, Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Pensoft, 1–263. * Lehrer, A.Z., 2008, Le statut taxonomique des espèces "''Musca carnaria'' Linnaeus, 1758" et ''Sarcophaga carnaria'' Bottcher, 1912 (Diptera, (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Fragmenta Dipterologica, 13:15-1

* Lehrer, A.Z., 2010, Taxonomic Atlas of the postabdominal structures. SARCOPHAGIDAE (Insecta, Diptera), vol. 1, Entomologica, Bari, 42 : 3–459, 418 figs. * Lehrer, A. Z. & Fromunda V., 1986, Le développement larvaire du diptèremyiasigène Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Bull. Ann. Soc. r. bege Ent., 122:129-136 * Lehrer A., Lehrer M. & Verstraeten C., 1988, Les myiases causées aux moutons de Roumanie par Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Ann. Méd. Vét., 132:475-481. * Lehrer, A. Z. & Luciano P., 1980, Sarcophagides (Diptera) parasites de ''Porthetria dispar'' (L.) en Sardaigne et leur cartographie dans le reseau U.T.M. Studi Sassaresi, Sez. III, Ann. Fac. Agraria Univ. Sassari, 27:161- 173. * Lehrer, A. Z. & Verstraeten C., 1991, Expansion parasitologique et géographique de Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) en Roumanie. Bull. Rech. Agron. Gembloux, 26(4):563-567. * Leonide, J. & Leonide J.-C. (1986), Les diptères sarcophagidés des orthoptères français – essai biotaxonomie. Université de Provence (Aix-en-Provence), 1–301. * Meigen, J.W. (1826), Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäischen zweiflügeligen Insekte. Fünfter Teil, Schulz, Hamm., 1–412. Mihàlyi, F. (1975), Beschreibung vier neuer Sarcophagidae Arten aus Ungarn (Diptera), Acta zool. hung., 21:101-108. * Mihàlyi, F., (1979b), Fémeslefgyek - Húslegyek. Calliphoridae – Sarcophagidae. Fauna Hung., 135:1-152. * Pape, T. (1987), The Sarcophagidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna ent. scand., 19:1-203. * Pape, T., 1996, Catalogue of the Sarcophagidae of the World (Insecta:Diptera). Mem. on Entomology, Intern., vol. 8, 558 p. * Povolny D. & Verves, YU.G. (1997), The flesh-flies of Central Europa (Insecta, Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Spixiana. Supplement, München, 24 :1-260. * Rohdendorf, B.B. (1937), Fam. Sarcophagidae. (P. 1). Faune de l'URSS, 19:1-501 n Russian with German summary * Salem, H.H. (1935), The Egyptian species of the genus Sarcophaga. Publ. Egypt. Univ. Fac. Med., 5:1-61. * Seguy, E. (1941), Études sur les mouches parasites. 2. Calliphoridae, calliphorines (suite), sarcophagines et rhinophorines de l'Europe occidentale et méridionale, Encycl. ent. (Ser. A), 21:1-436. * Senior-White, R.A., Aubertin, D. & Smart, J. (1940), Diptera. Family Calliphoridae. The fauna of British India, including the remainder of the Oriental Region. Vol. VI. London, 1–288. * Thompson, F.C. & Pont, A.C., 1993, Systematic Database of ''Musca'' Names (Diptera). These Zoologicae, 20, 221 p. * Verves, YU. G. (1982), 64h. Sarcophaginae. Die Fliegen der plaearktischen Region, Stuttgart, Bd. 11, Lf. 327:235-296. * Verves, YU. G. (1985), 64h. Sarcophaginae. Die Fliegen der plaearktischen Region, Stuttgart, Bd. 11, Lf. 330:297-440. * Zumpt, F. (1972), Calliphoridae (Diptera Cyclorhapha). Part IV. Sarcophaginae. Explor. Parc nat. Albert, Miss. G.F. de Witte (1933-1935), 101:1-264.

Species lists

NearcticPalaearcticJapan

References

Pape, T., Dahlem, G., Mello Patiu, C.A. de & Giroux, M. 25 June 2010. The World of Flesh Flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

Accessed on April 2012

External links

Pape, T. & Carlberg, U. (2001 onwards), A pictorial guide to the Sarcophagidae of the world (Insecta: Diptera)."Sarcophagidae Central" Overview, Identification Annotated bibliography etc.

Diagnostic photographs, descriptions and information; female specimen

Photographs, descriptions and information; female specimen
Images from Diptera infoUseful site for diagnostic features. In easily understood FrenchTotal recoil: Survival of the primmest
Instance of human myiasis. {{Authority control Coprophagous insects