Sciomyzidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 either Sepedon aenescens or Sepedomerus macropus
|
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
many |
The family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies, are of the order Diptera; some of the subgroups of this family are occasionally accorded status as separate families (Huttoninidae, Phaeomyiidae and Tetanoceridae). Marsh flies are generally slender, yellowish or brownish, ¼–½ inches long. They have fairly prominent eyes, prominent forward-pointing antennae, and bristles on the femora (upper hind leg). The wings are mottled with various light brown markings according to species. Marsh flies are common along the edges of ponds and rivers, and in marshy areas where the larvae prey on or become parasites of slugs & snails. Very little is known about the complete life cycle of these flies.
Habitat: Near ponds, streams, marshes. Food: Adults drink dew and nectar. Larvae prey on slugs and freshwater snails.
[edit] Suggested works
Rozkośný, R. The Sciomyzidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica, 14 ISBN 90-04-07592-5 Hardback (224 pp., 639 figures, in English)
