Belongs within: Schizophora.
Contains: Lauxaniidae.
The Lauxanioidea are a group of small to medium-sized flies characterised by convergent postvertical bristles, a shortened anal vein that does not reach the wing margin, and the presence of only a single dorsal sclerite between the sixth tergite and the periandrium in the male. They include the Celyphidae, beetle flies, a group of tropical flies with an enlarged scutellum overhanging the abdomen, beneath which the wings are folded at rest.
The Chamaemyiidae are small stocky flies with larvae predatory on plant-sucking bugs such as aphids and scales. Members of the Holarctic chamaemyiid genus Cremifania lack a prescutellum and presutural supra-alar seta, and have a large, darkly clouded pterostigmal space on the wing. Other chamaemyiids in the subfamily Chamaemyiinae have the supra-alar seta and usually the prescutellum, and the pterostigmal space is smaller and usually only lightly clouded. Within the Chamaemyiinae, the Chamaemyiini have an elongate, posteriorly tapering body form, postocellar setae and strong ocellar setae. The Leucopini have a more compact body with postocellar setae absent and ocellar setae absent or small (Gaimari 2010).
Beetle flies
Published 23 August 2013
_-_Singapore.jpg){kind=link}
Sometimes you come across an animal that just makes you stop, blink, and exclaim, “What the creeping jayzus is that!”. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Celyphidae.
Celyphids are flies that are doing their damnedest to look like a beetle (and are hence, unsurprisingly, commonly known as beetle flies). The scutellum, which in most flies is a relatively small lobe of the thorax sitting behind and between the wings, has become massively enlarged and overtops the abdomen. The wings (which are full-sized and fully functional) slip in underneath the scutellum when folded back. Just to add to the overall beetle-osity of the thing, celyphids can be very shiny and metallic (check out the blue-black item here). The function of this giant scutellum is unknown; protection is the first thing that comes to my mind, but I don’t know if the scutellum is any more sclerotised than the rest of the animal. One suggestion that has apparently been made is that the scutellum may provide extra buoyancy in flight (Tenorio 1972), to which I ask, is it hollow or something?
Celyphids are found in tropical Asia and Africa (all the photos on this page except the last were taken in Singapore). They are closely related to the more widespread family Lauxaniidae, and have been treated by at least some authors as a derived subgroup of the latter (some lauxaniids also show a degree of enlargement of the scutellum). The larvae of celyphids feed on rotting vegetation.
Systematics of Lauxanioidea
<==LauxanioideaWT11 |--+--LauxaniidaeWT11 | `--CelyphidaeWT11 | |--Spaniocelyphus umsinduziWT11 | |--AcelyphusO98 | `--IdiocelyphusO98 `--ChamaemyiidaeWT11 | i. s.: ChaetoleucopisCM91 | GayomyiaCM91 | Procremifania electricaM87 | Anochthiphila nigraO98 |--Ochthiphila [Ochthiphilidae, Ochthiphilinae]K01 | |--O. aridellaK01 | `--O. coronataK01 |--Cremifania [Cremifaniidae, Cremifaniinae]G10 | |--C. nearcticaWT11 | `--C. nigrocellulataG10 `--ChamaemyiinaeG10 |--Chamaemyiini [Acrometopiini]G10 | |--Acrometopia reichertiG10, O98 | |--ParapameciaG10 | |--Parochthiphila coronataG10, WT11 | |--Plunomia elegansG10 | |--ChamaemyiaG10 | | |--C. flavipalpisGT96 | | |--C. fumicostaG10 | | `--C. polystigmaG10 | |--PseudoleucopisM87 | | |--P. beneficaM87 | | `--P. fasciventrisCM91 | |--PseudodiniaG10 | | |--P. meridionalisG10 | | |--P. obscuraG10 | | |--P. tuberculataG10 | | `--P. varipesG10 | `--OrtalidinaG10 | |--*O. cellularisG10 | |--O. longipennisG10 | |--O. nigripalpisG10 | `--O. punctata [=Toropamecia punctata]G10 `--Leucopini [Leucopinae]G10 |--Melaleucopis simmondsiG10 |--Leucopomyia pulvinariaG10 [=Leucopis (Leucopomyia) pulvinariaeM87] |--Anchioleucopis macalpineiG10 |--EchinoleucopisG10 |--Lipoleucopis praecoxM87, G10 |--NeoleucopisG10 | |--N. atratula [=Leucopis (Neoleucopis) atratula]M87 | |--N. obscuraGT96 | `--N. pinicolaG10 [=Leucopis (Neoleucopis) pinicolaM87] |--LeucopinaG10 | |--L. bellulaG10 | |--L. bivittataG10 | `--L. ocellarisG10 [=Leucopis ocellarisBW09] `--LeucopisG10 | i. s.: L. albipunctaGT96 | L. americana [=Leucopina americana]GT96 | L. annulipes Zetterstedt 1848R96 | L. cerasiphilaT96 | L. conciliataGT96 | L. gaimarii Tanasijtshuk 1996T96 | L. glyphinivoraT96 | L. griseolaK01 | L. interruptovittataGT96 | L. ninae Tanasijtshuk 1966T96 | L. pallidolineataT96 | L. tapiaeP09 | L. verticalisGT96 |--L. (Leucopis)G10 | |--L. (L.) charactophallaG10 | |--L. (L.) flavicornisG10 | |--L. (L.) hennigrataM87 | `--L. (L.) simplexG10 `--L. geniculataM87
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[BW09] Buck, M., N. E. Woodley, A. Borkent, D. M. Wood, T. Pape, J. R. Vockeroth, V. Michelsen & S. A. Marshall. 2009. Key to Diptera families—adults. In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 1 pp. 95–156. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.
[CM91] Colless, D. H., & D. K. McAlpine. 1991. Diptera (flies). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 717–786. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).
[G10] Gaimari, S. D. 2010. Chamaemyiidae (chamaemyiid flies). In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 2 pp. 997–1007. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.
[GT96] Gaimari, S. D., & W. J. Turner. 1996. Immature stages of Leucopis ninae Tanasijtshuk and two variant populations of Leucopis gaimarii Tanasijtshuk (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) feeding on Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) (Homoptera: Aphididae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 98 (4): 647–666.
[K01] Kertész, K. 1901. Legyek [Dipteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 179–201. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.
[M87] McAlpine, J. F. 1987. Chamaemyiidae. In: McAlpine, J. F. (ed.) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 2 pp. 965–971. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.
[O98] Oosterbroek, P. 1998. The Families of Diptera of the Malay Archipelago. Brill: Leiden.
[P09] Pape, T. 2009. Economic importance of Diptera. In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera, vol. 1 pp. 65–77. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.
[R96] Raspi, A. 1996. Thaumatomyia elongatula (Becker) (Chloropidae) and Leucopis annulipes Zetterstedt (Chamaemyiidae): two Diptera preying on Phloeomyzus passerinii (Signoret) (Homoptera: Phloeomyzidae) in Italy. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 98 (3): 509–516.
[T96] Tanasijtshuk, V. N. 1996. Two new species of Leucopis Meigen (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) predacious on the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) (Homoptera: Aphididae), in North America. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 98 (4): 640–646.
Tenorio, J. M. 1972. A revision of the Celyphidae (Diptera) of the Oriental Region. Trans. R. Ent. Soc. Lond. 123 (4): 359–453.
[WT11] Wiegmann, B. M., M. D. Trautwein, I. S. Winkler, N. B. Barr, J.-W. Kim, C. Lambkin, M. A. Bertone, B. K. Cassel, K. M. Bayless, A. M. Heimberg, B. M. Wheeler, K. J. Peterson, T. Pape, B. J. Sinclair, J. H. Skevington, V. Blagoderov, J. Caravas, S. N. Kutty, U. Schmidt-Ott, G. E. Kampmeier, F. C. Thompson, D. A. Grimaldi, A. T. Beckenbach, G. W. Courtney, M. Friedrich, R. Meier & D. K. Yeates. 2011. Episodic radiations in the fly tree of life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 108 (14): 5690–5695.