Africa Wild Insect Book Flies (Diptera)

[Klipspringer]

Woolly Bee Fly Anastoechus sp.
Family: Bombyliidae Subfamily: Bombyliinae. Tribe: Bombyliini

© ExFmem
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

The family Bombyliidae is arguably one of the most poorly known families of insects relative to its species richness. They have powerful wings and are found typically in flight over flowers or resting on the bare ground exposed to the sun. When at rest, many species hold their wings at a characteristic "swept back" angle. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen and often have very long probosces. Many Bombyliidae superficially resemble bees and this may represent an example of Batesian mimicry, affording the adults some protection from predators.

Genus Anastoechus:
Anastoechus is a widespread genus, 30 species in the Afrotropical region.
Broad head and shaggy bristly vestiture. Medium sized (5-13 mm) flies with short antennae and very long proboscis, body covered with white, yellow, orange, or brown pile. Face rounded in side view, with dense pile. Abdome ovate, long shaggy setulae.
Hind femura with row of setae ventrally.
Wing broad at base. Wing cell r5 closed or narrowly open before wing margin. Crossvein r-m situated before basal quarter of cell dm, cells br and bm of equal length.

[Klipspringer]

Woolly Bee Fly Anastoechus sp.
Family: Bombyliidae Subfamily: Bombyliinae. Tribe: Bombyliini

© ExFmem
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

© ExFmem

© ExFmem

© ExFmem

Description of Anastoechus here

[ExFmem]

Horse Fly Tabanus sp.
Family: Tabanidae Subfamily Tabaninae

Family Tabanidae (Horse flies, deer flies, marsh flies, and clegs)

Tabanidae, commonly known as horseflies, is a large, cosmopolitan family, and about 400 occur in southern Africa. Both sexes feed on nectar or pollen and some species are important pollinators. Females usually require a bloodmeal to produce eggs, implicating them as vectors of disease‐causing agents. The family Tabanidae comprises four subfamilies: Chrysopsinae, Pangoniinae, Scepsidinae and Tabaninae.

There are more than 4400 described species of tabanids worldwide. Over 700 species occur in Africa, occupying a diverse range of habitats and are considered harmful to humans and animals, due to their role in transmission of a wide range of pathogens. Examples include viruses (malignant catarrhal fever, lumpy skin disease, rift valley fever), bacteria (Bacillus anthracis, Anaplasma marginale) and parasites (Besnoitia besnoiti, Trypanosoma spp., Loa loa).
Adults feed on nectar and plant exudates; the males have weak mouthparts and only the females bite animals to obtain enough protein from blood to produce eggs. The mouthparts of females are formed into a stout stabbing organ with two pairs of sharp cutting blades, and a spongelike part used to lap up the blood that flows from the wound. The larvae are predaceous and grow in semiaquatic habitats.
The largest species in South Africa are Tabanus biguttatus, T. ustus, Philoliche rostrata and P. aethiopica with a length of about 23 mm.

Diagnosis
The family Tabanidae can be readily separated from other similar sized Diptera by the structure of the antennae, (the third antennal segment which is elongate and has a cylindrical extension with rings (or annulations) that appear like miniature segments), the wing venation, and the almost complete absence of setae on the body and legs.



Tabanus sp.


Male, Kruger NP by ExF

Tabanus are diverse in appearance and range in size from small to very large-sized species, with the wing either clear, or distinctly patterned (e.g., T. marmorosus Surcouf, 1909). They occur in almost all habitat types and are often numerous where they occur.
A study in the south-eastern KNP sampled these species: Tabanus minuscularius, Tabanus chevalieri, Tabanus gratus, Tabanus atrimanus, Tabanus cf. sericiventris, Atylotus agrestis, Chrysops obliquefasciata, Philoliche (Buplex) suavis, Haematopota vittata, Haematopota decora and Haemotopota daveyi. The dominant species from the sampled sites was Tabanus minuscularius.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhmww ... me-two.pdf
https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/211 ... pdf/287796
https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/h

[Klipspringer]

Orange-banded Bumblebee Fly Bombomyia bombiformis
Family: Bombyliidae. Subfamily: Bombyliinae. Tribe: Bombyliini

Bombomyia discoidea.jpg (229.47 KiB) Viewed 1212 times

Kruger National Park, April 2016 © arks


Genus Bombomyia
Diagnosis:
- Body setulae short, with clipped appearance; usually with abundant black elements contrasting with areas of white, orange or grey.
- Head with face short, with short sparse setulae only. Head always distinctly narrower than thora; hind margin of eye not indented.
- Legs black; hind femora always with well developed bristles on underside.
- Abdomen ovate, tapered beyond tergum 4
- Wing base black, remainder hyaline or tinged yellowish; cell r5 closed and stalked; crossvein r-m much shorter than m-m.

Description
Bombomyia bombiformis is a robust species with an orange band across the abdomen.






Distribution
One of the most widespread Old World species. Palaearctic and Afrotropical (Botswana, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe).

[Klipspringer]

Family Tephritidae (Fruit Flies)
Section Schizophora. Subsection Acalyptratae. Superfamily Tephritoidea. Family Tephritidae

The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. To distinguish them from the Drosophilidae, the Tephritidae are sometimes called peacock flies or picture-winged flies. Nearly 5,000 described species of tephritid fruit fly are categorized in almost 500 genera of the Tephritidae. 375 species are known from the region.

Description
Tephritids are small to medium-sized (2.5–10 mm) flies that are often colourful, and usually with pictured wings, the subcostal vein curving forward at a right angle. The head is hemispherical and usually short. The face is vertical or retreating and the frons is broad. Ocelli and cellar bristles are present. The postvertical bristles are parallel to divergent. Two to eight pairs of frontal bristles are seen (at least one but usually several lower pairs curving inwards and at least one of the upper pairs curving backwards). In some species, the frontal bristles are inserted on a raised tubercle. Interfrontal setulae are usually absent or represented by one or two tiny setulae near the lunula. True vibrissae are absent, but several genera have strong bristles near the vibrissal angle. The wings usually have yellow, brown, or black markings or are dark-coloured with lighter markings. In a few species, the wings are clear. The costa has both a humeral and a subcostal break. The apical part of the subcostal is usually indistinct or even transparent and at about a right angle with respect to the basal part. Crossvein BM-Cu is present; the cell cup (posterior cubital cell or anal cell) is closed and nearly always narrowing to an acute angle. It is closed by a geniculated vein (CuA2). The CuA2 vein is rarely straight or convex. The tibiae lack a dorsal preapical bristle. The female has an oviscape. (Some ovipositors only retract partly when not in use, and the basal part that sticks out is known as the scape, or more specifically oviscape).

Tephritidae morphology.jpg (81.9 KiB) Viewed 1201 times

Ecology
The larvae of almost all Tephritidae are phytophagous. Females deposit eggs in living, healthy plant tissue using their telescopic ovipositors. Here, the larvae find their food upon emerging. The larvae develop in leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, fruits, and roots of the host plant, depending on the species. Some species are gall-forming. The adults sometimes have a very short lifespan. Some live for less than a week. Some species are monophagous (feeding on only one plant species) others are polyphagous (feeding on several, usually related plant species).

The behavioral ecology of tephritid fruit flies is of great interest to biologists. Some fruit flies have extensive mating rituals or territorial displays. Many are brightly colored and visually showy. Some fruit flies show Batesian mimicry, bearing the colors and markings of dangerous arthropods such as wasps or jumping spiders because it helps the fruit flies avoid predation, though the flies lack stingers.
Adult tephritid fruit flies are often found on the host plant and feeding on pollen, nectar, rotting plant debris, or honeydew.

[Klipspringer]

Oryx Fly Leucothrix oryx
Section Schizophora. Subsection Acalyptratae. Superfamily Tephritoidea. Family Tephritidae. Subfamily Tephritinae. Tribe Pliomelaenini

© ExFmem
The fly is a female, showing the diagnostic large oviscape at the tip of the abdomen. The oviscape is the basal part of the ovipositor, a non-retractile sheath that remains exposed when the ovipositor is withdrawn and not in action.

© ExFmem
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park


The species is named for the gemsbok, Oryx gazella, which has long, straight horns.

Description
Length 2.6 mm, wing 2.4 mm.
Antennae very elongate, much longer than face.
Head, body, femora and proximal two-thirds of hind tibiae shining black; fore and hind tibiae dark brown, tarsi light brown.
They have whitish and thickened postocular setae mixed with small dark setulae, three pairs of dark frontal setae and two pairs of orbital setae.
Wing with a black band from base above vein 4, bending down over inner end of posterior cell 2.

Leucothrix oryx.jpg (44.27 KiB) Viewed 1198 times

Biology
Larvae of this species feed in flower heads of Monechma sp. (Acanthaceae).
Many tephritids are associated with composite plants (Asteraceae or Compositae), and many of these form galls in the capitulum (=flower head or seed head), stem or root system.
The wings are an important feature for the mating rituals. The adult male waits on or near the capitulum. This is usually only a flower-bud at this stage, whose shape and odour presumably trigger the territorial behaviour which can easily be watched in many species. The female then finds (rendezvous with) the male and a mating 'dance' takes place. The form of the dance differs between genera and the patterned wings appear to be an important part of the display.

Distribution
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and Namibia.


© ExFmem
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Links:
https://koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/a ... ad/812/919
https://journals.co.za/content/JESSA/19 ... 28789_4341
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... ephritinae

[Klipspringer]

Ephydridae (Shore Flies)
Infraorder Muscomorpha. Superfamily Ephydroidea. Family Ephydridae

Among families of acalyptrate Diptera, the Ephydridae demonstrate exceptional diversity, with nearly 1900 species worldwide. The family, more
commonly known as shore or brine flies, also exhibits considerable adaptive evolution. Although most shore-fly species are aquatic or semi-aquatic as immatures, feeding as browsers or filter feeders, the larvae of others are terrestrial, feeding as leaf miners, parasitoids in spider eggs, predators in clusters of frog eggs, or being saprophagous on carrion, feces, and stranded snails. Many species have adapted to such inhospitable environments as sulphurous hot springs, highly alkaline or saline lakes, and, perhaps most notably, to exposed pools of crude petroleum.

The flies are minute to small (0.9 to 7.0 mm), robustly-built with black or gray colorations. Wings are sometimes patterned. Costa with two interruptions are present in first section, near the humeral cross-vein and again near the end of vein 1. The second basal cell is not separated from the discal cell. Arista are bare or with hairs on the upper side (plumose on the upper side). The mouth opening is very large in some species. The ratio of vertical diameter of eye and height of gena (face index) is widely used in identification of individual species.
Predatory (on other insects), or neither parasitic nor predatory (feeding on decaying matter or excrement).

Diagnosis: Antennae 3 segmented (the third rounded); ‘modified’; aristate (and the second segment sometimes with a downwardly curving spine); the arista dorsal (bare, or plumed only on its upper side). The second antennal segment not grooved. Ptilinal suture clearly defined. Ocelli present; 3. Eyes rounded, well separated. Post-vertical orbital bristles absent. Mouthparts functional. The maxillary palps 1 segmented; porrect. Vibrissae present (but poorly developed and not distict from the other bristles around the mouth), or absent. Thorax without a continuous dorsal suture; without well defined posterior calli. Wing venation incomplete, in the sense of lacking one or more of the cells. Wings without a discal cell (i.e., confluent with the 2nd basal cell); without a sub-apical cell; without a closed anal cell. The costa with two breaks (near the humeral cross vein, and near the end of vein 1). Sub-costa apparent, or absent or only dubiously identifiable (weakly developed except basally); joining vein 1 well short of the costa (weakly developed, and confused distally with vein 1). Wing vein 4 extending far beyond the end of the first basal cell. Wing vein 6 present; falling short of the wing margin. Wing vein 7 absent; reaching the wing margin, or falling short of the wing margin. Wings with the lower calypter much reduced or absent; patterned (e.g., Ilythea), or unpatterned. Tibiae without a dorsal pre-apical bristle. Hind tibiae without strong bristles in the basal 4/5.

[Klipspringer]

Shore Fly Actocetor decemguttatus
Infraorder Muscomorpha. Superfamily Ephydroidea. Family Ephydridae. Subfamily Discomyzinae. Tribe Discomyzini

© ExFmem

The genus Actocetor comprises species with spotted wings and beautifully colored bodies. Actocetor are generally small with a body length of less than 3.5 mm.

Actocetor is known only from the Old World where the genus occurs primarily in the tropical zones of the Afrotropical and Oriental Regions. The most widely occuring species Actocetor indicus which is found in the Afrotropical, Oriental, and southern Palearctic Regions, is relatively well known because of its beautiful coloration and spotted wings.


© ExFmem
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Links:
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... Ephydridae
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... 02-22.webm

[Klipspringer]

Woolly Bee Fly Anastoechus sp.
Family: Bombyliidae Subfamily: Bombyliinae. Tribe: Bombyliini

© ExFmem

© ExFmem
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Description of Anastoechus here

[ExFmem]

Banded Bee Fly Villa sp.
Family Bombyliidae Subfamily Anthracinae
Tribe Villini




Kgalagadi TP by ExF

Tribe Villini
Wing usually with interradial (= auxillary) crossvein between R2+3 and R4 absent (2 submarginal cells); claws without a tooth at base; pulvilli sometimes present




Kgalagadi TP by ExF

Genus Villa

Villa is a large, cosmopolitan genus of mostly very similar looking species, some of which can only reliably be separated by differences in the genitalia.

Description
Head - Antennae with scape and pedicel of similar width, flagellum elongate, usually onion-shaped, composed of a single flagellomere
Face rounded, at most only slightly bulging
Hind margin of eye with a bisecting line (arrow)







Fore tibiae with short bristles, spiculate; pulvilli absent; wing with at most a narrow basicostal infuscation, male often with a patch of silvery scales at its base; usually with extensive yellowish hair, especially on thorax; abdomen with a more or less distinctly banded pattern and one or more pairs of tufts of black scales at sides.


Distribution
Cosmopolitan. Africa South of the Sahara: 43 species

Hosts
Immatures have been recorded as internal parasitoids of the pupae of Lepidoptera, Tabanidae and Myrmeleontidae.


Manual-afrotropical-diptera-volume-two

https://archive.org/details/beefliesofw ... 4/mode/2up
https://journals.co.za/content/nmsa_ai/42/1/EJC84477