Apiocera

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Apiocera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Brachycera
Superfamily: Asiloidea
Family: Apioceridae
Genus: Apiocera
Westwood, 1835
Species

~150 species

The Apioceridae, or flower-loving flies, are a small (approximately 150 species) family of flies, all in the single genus Apiocera. They occur mostly in dry sandy habitats in the deserts of North America, South America, and Australia.

Contents

[edit] Biology

Apiocerids are found in sandy, arid and semiarid habitats. Hovering over bare patches of ground they can emit a loud hum. Despite the common name, most Apiocera never visit flowers, but rather are found running on the ground near sparse vegetation, or feeding on honeydew beneath aphid-infested plants. They are often seen drinking from damp sand with their sponge-like mouth-parts. The larvae of Apiocera maritima are found in sand near the high water mark of coastal beaches.

[edit] Literature

Identification

  • Paramonov, S.J. 1953. A review of Australian Apioceridae (Diptera). Aust. J. Zool. 1: 449-536. Key

[edit] Classification

Other genera formerly placed in Apioceridae are now in Mydidae. See Yeates DK, Irwin ME. 1996. Apioceridae (Insecta: Diptera): Cladistics and biogeography. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 116: 247-301

[edit] External links