the-insect-archive-diptera

Cards

Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti – sometimes called the Egyptian mosquito, dengue mosquito, or yellow fever mosquito – is a mosquito that spreads diseases such as dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya. The mosquito can be recognized by black and white markings on its legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the upper surface of its thorax. The mosquito is native to north Africa, but is now a common invasive species that has spread to tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions throughout the world.

Crane fly

A crane fly, also known as a mosquito eater, or a mosquito hawk, is a member of the dipteran superfamily Tipuloidea, which contains the living families Cylindrotomidae, Limoniidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae, as well as several extinct families. "Winter crane flies", members of the family Trichoceridae, are sufficiently different from the typical crane flies of Tipuloidea to be excluded from the superfamily Tipuloidea, and are placed as their sister group within Tipulomorpha. Two other families of flies, the phantom crane flies (Ptychopteridae) and primitive crane flies (Tanyderidae), have similar common names due to their similar appearance.

Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster is a species of fly in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly", "pomace fly", or "banana fly". D. melanogaster is attracted to rotting fruit and fermenting beverages and is often found in orchards, kitchens, and pubs.

Episyrphus balteatus

Episyrphus balteatus, sometimes called the marmalade hoverfly, is a relatively small hoverfly (9–12 mm) of the Syrphidae family, widespread throughout the Palaearctic region, which covers Europe, North Asia, and North Africa. It is considered the most abundant native hoverfly in Central Europe.

Housefly

The housefly is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It possibly originated in the Middle East, and spread around the world as a commensal of humans. Adults are gray to black, with four dark, longitudinal lines on the thorax, slightly hairy bodies, and a single pair of membranous wings. They have red compound eyes, set farther apart in the slightly larger female.

Tsetse fly

Tsetse flies are large biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus Glossina, which are placed in their own family, Glossinidae. The tsetse is an obligate parasite that lives by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals. Tsetse flies have been extensively studied because of their role in transmitting disease. They have pronounced economic and public health consequences in sub-Saharan Africa as the biological vectors of trypanosomes, causing human and animal trypanosomiasis.

Hoverfly

Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphids, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering, maintaining a spot in the air as part of their display behavior; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, specifically detritivores, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores, preying on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects.

Ceratitis capitata

Ceratitis capitata, commonly known as the Mediterranean fruit fly or medfly, is a yellow-and-brown fly native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has no near relatives in the Western Hemisphere and is considered to be one of the most destructive fruit pests in the world. There have been occasional medfly infestations in California, Florida, and Texas that require extensive eradication efforts to prevent the fly from establishing itself in the United States.

Fly

A fly is an insect of the order Diptera, named for the single pair of wings. The hindwings have evolved into halteres, organs that sense rotation, giving flies precise control of their flight. Diptera is a large order containing more than 150,000 species, including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies, mosquitoes and others.

Aedes albopictus

Aedes albopictus, from the mosquito (Culicidae) family, also known as the (Asian) tiger mosquito or forest mosquito, is a species of mosquito native to the tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia. In the past few centuries, it has spread to many countries through the transport of goods and international travel. It is characterized by the white bands on its legs and body.

Common green bottle fly

The common green bottle fly is a blowfly found in most areas of the world and is the most well-known of the numerous green bottle fly species. Its body is 10–14 mm (0.39–0.55 in) in length – slightly larger than a house fly – and has brilliant, metallic, blue-green or golden coloration with black markings. It has short, sparse, black bristles (setae) and three cross-grooves on the thorax. The wings are clear with light brown veins, and the legs and antennae are black. The larvae of the fly may be used for maggot therapy, are commonly used in forensic entomology, and can be the cause of myiasis in livestock and pets. The common green bottle fly emerges in the spring for mating.

Mosquito

Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word mosquito is Spanish and Portuguese for little fly. Mosquitoes have a slender, segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and a specialized, highly elongated, proboscis, adapted for piercing and sucking. All mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers; females of many species have adapted to also drink blood. The group diversified during the Cretaceous period. Evolutionary biologists view mosquitoes as micropredators, small animals that parasitise larger ones by drinking their blood without immediately killing them. Medical parasitologists view mosquitoes as vectors of disease, carrying protozoan parasites or bacterial or viral pathogens from one host to another.

Tipula maxima

Tipula maxima is a species of true cranefly.

Quiz

Diptera