Macaronesian Muscidae (Diptera). IV. The genus Helina Robineau-Desvoidy, and description of the male of Spilogona maderensis Michelsen.

The Macaronesian species of the muscid genus Helina are revised. The genus is represented in the Canary Islands by 9 species, in Madeira by 7 species, and in the Azores Islands by 1 species. Four species, one divided in two subspecies, are endemic to the Canary Islands: Helina grancanariae sp. nov. (Gran Canaria), H. obscurisquama obscurisquama (Stein) (Tenerife, La Gomera), H. obscurisquama pseudonivalis (Santos Abréu) ssp. rev. (La Palma), H. rufitibialis Hennig (Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma) and H. santosabreui sp. nov. (La Gomera, La Palma). The following three species are endemic to Madeira: Helina atlantica (Tiensuu), H. lundbladi Tiensuu and H. vilissima Hennig. Existing records of Helina almeriensis (Strobl) and H. quadrum (Fabricius) from the Canary Islands are considered as misidentifications. An identification key to males and females concludes the species accounts. Finally, a description is given of the previously unknown male sex of the endemic Madeiran Spilogona maderensis Michelsen.

A reassessment of the Andean genus Myopella Malloch (Diptera: Anthomyiidae).

The small Andean genus Myopella Malloch with two included species, M. angustifrons Malloch and M. appendiculata (Stein), is re-examined with special attention to the morphology of the male and female abdomen and terminalia. Adult morphology corroborates the current position of Myopella as an Andean endemic genus of Anthomyiidae, but its position within the anthomyiid tree remains in doubt despite the newly attained morphological knowledge. The status of the name Myopinella Michelsen, as proposed recently to replace for the preoccupied name Myopella Malloch, is clarified.

Strongwellsea selandia and Strongwellsea gefion (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae), two new species infecting adult flies from genus Helina (Diptera: Muscidae).

Two new species from the genus Strongwellsea (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae) that infect adult flies from the genus Helina (Muscidae) are described: Strongwellsea selandia Eilenberg & Humber infecting adult Helina evecta (Harris), and Strongwellsea gefion Eilenberg & Humber infecting adult Helina reversio (Harris). The descriptions are based on pathobiological, phenotypical and genotypical characters. The new species differ from other described members from the genus Strongwellsea by a) pathobiology as revealed by natural host species, b) morphology of primary conidia, c) color of resting spores, and d) genotypical clustering based on analysis of ITS2. The two new species have only been documented from North Zealand, Denmark.

The Early Season Community of Flower-Visiting Arthropods in a High-Altitude Alpine Environment.

In mountain ecosystems, climate change can cause spatiotemporal shifts, impacting the composition of communities and altering fundamental biotic interactions, such as those involving flower-visiting arthropods. On of the main problems in assessing the effects of climate change on arthropods in these environments is the lack of baseline data. In particular, the arthropod communities on early flowering high-altitude plants are poorly investigated, although the early season is a critical moment for possible mismatches. In this study, we characterised the flower-visiting arthropod community on the early flowering high-altitude Alpine plant, Androsace brevis (Primulaceae). In addition, we tested the effect of abiotic factors (temperature and wind speed) and other variables (time, i.e., hour of the day, and number of flowers per plant) on the occurrence, abundance, and diversity of this community. A. brevis is a vulnerable endemic species growing in the Central Alps above 2000 m asl and flowering for a very short period immediately after snowmelt, thus representing a possible focal plant for arthropods in this particular moment of the season. Diptera and Hymenoptera were the main flower visitors, and three major features of the community emerged: an evident predominance of anthomyiid flies among Diptera, a rare presence of bees, and a relevant share of parasitoid wasps. Temperature and time (hour of the day), but not wind speed and number of flowers per plant, affected the flower visitors' activity. Our study contributes to (1) defining the composition of high-altitude Alpine flower-visiting arthropod communities in the early season, (2) establishing how these communities are affected by environmental variables, and (3) setting the stage for future evaluation of climate change effects on flower-visiting arthropods in high-altitude environments in the early season.

Strongwellsea crypta (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae), a new species infecting Botanophila fugax (Diptera: Anthomyiidae).

A new species from the genus Strongwellsea (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae) is described: Strongwellsea crypta Eilenberg & Humber from adult Botanophila fugax (Meigen) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae). The description is based on pathobiological, phenotypical and genotypical characters. The abdominal holes in infected hosts develop rapidly and become strikingly large and edgy, almost rhomboid in shape. The new species S. crypta differs from S. castrans, the only described species infecting flies from Anthomyiidae, by: (a) naturally infecting another host species, (b) by having significantly longer primary conidia, and (c) by genotypical clustering separately from that species when sequencing ITS2.

Macaronesian Muscidae (Diptera). II. The genus emLimnophora/em Robineau-Desvoidy with description of a new Canarian endemic species.

The Macaronesian species of the muscid genus Limnophora are reviewed with special emphasis on the fauna of the western Canary Islands. The genus is represented by 14 species in the Macaronesian archipelagos, with 10 species in the Canary Islands, 4 species in the Cape Verde Islands, and 3 species in Madeira. Limnophora obsignatula sp. nov. is endemic to the western Canary Islands, where it replaces the widespread continental L. obsignata (Rondani). It is further shown that L. paneliusi Emden, a species so far considered endemic to the Cape Verde Islands, is widespread in the Canary Islands. Two species, L. obsignata (Rondani) and L. tigrina Am Stein, are removed from the list of Canarian Muscidae as based on misidentifications of other species with a mesonotal "Anthomyia-pattern". Limnophora (Calliophrys) riparia capoverdica Emden, a taxon described from the Cape Verde Islands, is synonymized with L. riparia (Fallén), syn. nov. Distribution data and illustrated diagnoses are given for each species. The species account is finalized with an identification key to males and females. An assessment of the ovipositor as a characters source in phylogeny and species recognition is made for 12 species of Limnophora. Finally, it is pointed out that several species are acutely threatened due to habitat disturbance.

Macaronesian Muscidae (Diptera). III. First record of the genus Spilogona Schnabl based on two new endemic species from the Azores and Madeira.

The occurrence of the muscid genus Spilogona Schnabl in Macaronesia is documented for the first time by the description of two new species, S. azorensis sp. nov. and S. maderensis sp. nov. These appear to be local endemics of the Azores and Madeira, respectively.

Strongwellsea tigrinae and Strongwellsea acerosa (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae), two new species infecting dipteran hosts from the genus Coenosia (Muscidae).

Two new species from the genus Strongwellsea (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae) are described: Strongwellsea tigrinae from adult Coenosia tigrina (Diptera: Muscidae) and Strongwellsea acerosa from adult Coenosia testacea. The descriptions are based on pathobiological, phenotypical and genotypical characters. Further, the circumscription of the genus Strongwellsea is emended. Our findings suggest that Strongwellsea harbors a high number of species, of which now only five have been described.

Pegomya disticha Griffiths and P. cedrica Huckett (Diptera: Anthomyiidae)-first documented case of insects trespassing the silica barrier of Common scouring-rush, Equisetum hyemale L.

Scouring-rushes (Equisetum sg. Hippochaete) are a group of horsetails with perennial aerial shoots strongly encrusted in silica. Accordingly, they seem to resist attacks from most herbivorous insects. Michelsen (2008) speculated that larval development of the European Pegomya terminalis (Rondani) and related anthomyiids takes place in specific scouring-rushes. Presently, we document that the larvae of two North American species related to P. terminalis attack developing shoots of Common scouring-rush, Equisetum hyemale L. Both species, Pegomya disticha Griffiths and P. cedrica Huckett, were found to coexist in a population of scouring-rush in Oklahoma. Various aspects of the life-history and morphology (3rd instar larva, male and female adults) for both species are described and documented by photos.

Co-existing species of Drapetis Meigen in Skåne (S Sweden) with description of a new species and a key to males of NW European species (Diptera: Hybotidae).

Drapetis is a genus of tiny predaceous hybotid flies found frequently on the bark of trees. From a single locality in province Skåne (S Sweden) we report the co-existence of seven species of Drapetis. One is new and described as D. abrollensis sp. nov., and four species, D. assimilis (Fallén), D. completa Kovalev, D. infitialis Collin and D. stackelbergi Kovalev, are relatively recent additions to the list of Swedish Diptera. A key to males of the 14 species of Drapetis known from NW Europe is given. Special emphasis is given to modifications of the midleg cuticle observed in males of several species that belong to the D. exilis-species group. As shown by SEM images these modifications differ greatly between the species, both at light microscopic and ultrastructural levels. These modifications are introduced as a new set of characters in the identification key. Finally, brochosomes were detected on the midleg of three SEM-examined Drapetis species, documenting indirectly that small leafhoppers are regularly used as prey.

Macaronesian Muscidae (Diptera). I. The genus Hebecnema Schnabl with description of a new Canarian endemic species and a review of the European fauna.

An account is given on the three species of the muscid genus Hebecnema Schnabl occurring in the Macaronesian islands. These are Hebecnema anthracina Stein from Madeira, H. anthracinella sp. nov. from the western Canary Islands, and H. fumosa (Meigen) found in the Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores. Existing Macaronesian records of H. umbratica (Meigen) from the Azores and H. vespertina (Fallén) from the Canary Islands are based on misidentifications. Diagnoses of the European species with photos of the male terminalia and a key to species are given. It is pointed out that the two species of Muscidae recently described as new from Sweden, Mydaea forsslundi Zielke, 2017 and Hebecnema brodina Zielke, 2018, represent exotic species, probably of Oriental provenance. Finally, morphological differences in the female ovipositor divide the seven European species of Hebecnema in two species groups.

Comprehensive inventory of true flies (Diptera) at a tropical site.

Estimations of tropical insect diversity generally suffer from lack of known groups or faunas against which extrapolations can be made, and have seriously underestimated the diversity of some taxa. Here we report the intensive inventory of a four-hectare tropical cloud forest in Costa Rica for one year, which yielded 4332 species of Diptera, providing the first verifiable basis for diversity of a major group of insects at a single site in the tropics. In total 73 families were present, all of which were studied to the species level, providing potentially complete coverage of all families of the order likely to be present at the site. Even so, extrapolations based on our data indicate that with further sampling, the actual total for the site could be closer to 8000 species. Efforts to completely sample a site, although resource-intensive and time-consuming, are needed to better ground estimations of world biodiversity based on limited sampling.

Remarkable fly (Diptera) diversity in a patch of Costa Rican cloud forest: Why inventory is a vital science.

Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch of cloud forest at 1,600 meters above sea level at Zurquí de Moravia, San José Province, Costa Rica (hereafter referred to as Zurquí), revealed an astounding 4,332 species. This amounts to more than half the number of named species of flies for all of Central America. Specimens were collected with two Malaise traps running continuously and with a wide array of supplementary collecting methods for three days of each month. All morphospecies from all 73 families recorded were fully curated by technicians before submission to an international team of 59 taxonomic experts for identification.        Overall, a Malaise trap on the forest edge captured 1,988 species or 51% of all collected dipteran taxa (other than of Phoridae, subsampled only from this and one other Malaise trap). A Malaise trap in the forest sampled 906 species. Of other sampling methods, the combination of four other Malaise traps and an intercept trap, aerial/hand collecting, 10 emergence traps, and four CDC light traps added the greatest number of species to our inventory. This complement of sampling methods was an effective combination for retrieving substantial numbers of species of Diptera. Comparison of select sampling methods (considering 3,487 species of non-phorid Diptera) provided further details regarding how many species were sampled by various methods.        Comparison of species numbers from each of two permanent Malaise traps from Zurquí with those of single Malaise traps at each of Tapantí and Las Alturas, 40 and 180 km distant from Zurquí respectively, suggested significant species turnover. Comparison of the greater number of species collected in all traps from Zurquí did not markedly change the degree of similarity between the three sites, although the actual number of species shared did increase.        Comparisons of the total number of named and unnamed species of Diptera from four hectares at Zurquí is equivalent to 51% of all flies named from Central America, greater than all the named fly fauna of Colombia, equivalent to 14% of named Neotropical species and equal to about 2.7% of all named Diptera worldwide. Clearly the number of species of Diptera in tropical regions has been severely underestimated and the actual number may surpass the number of species of Coleoptera.        Various published extrapolations from limited data to estimate total numbers of species of larger taxonomic categories (e.g., Hexapoda, Arthropoda, Eukaryota, etc.) are highly questionable, and certainly will remain uncertain until we have more exhaustive surveys of all and diverse taxa (like Diptera) from multiple tropical sites.        Morphological characterization of species in inventories provides identifications placed in the context of taxonomy, phylogeny, form, and ecology. DNA barcoding species is a valuable tool to estimate species numbers but used alone fails to provide a broader context for the species identified.

Tapantiomyia enigmatica, new genus and species proposed for a stilt-legged and otherwise bizarre coenosiine fly (Diptera: Muscidae) from Costa Rica.

A new monotypic genus, Tapantiomyia gen. nov., is proposed for a new species of muscid fly, T. enigmatica sp. nov., found in the Tapantí National Park, Costa Rica. It is only known by a single male specimen taken in a Malaise trap in tropical cloud forest, but deserves immediate attention because of its bizarre, stilt-legged appearance in combination with several other unique apomorphies that preclude placement in any known genus of Muscidae. Tapantiomyia enigmatica is so strange that it tend to run out to Scathophagidae rather than Muscidae in keys to families of Diptera. However, the morphology of the male genitalia provides decisive evidence for a placement in Coenosiinae, a large and diverse group of predatory Muscidae. Two tribes, Limnophorini and Coenosiini, are currently recognized within Coenosiinae, but the monophyly of Limnophorini remains uncertain. Tapantiomyia is tentatively assigned to the Limnophorini.

Taxonomic review of the major larval pests of bolete fungi (Boletaceae) in Europe: The Pegomya fulgens, furva and tabida species groups (Diptera: Anthomyiidae).

A taxonomic review of the European species of the Pegomya fulgens, furva and tabida species groups is given with emphasis on characters of importance for the identification of males and females. These Pegomya species groups are represented in Europe by two, two and nine species, respectively. Their mycophagous larvae may all feed exclusively on bolete sporocarps of Leccinum and Boletus aff. edulis. Their relationships and biology are summarized. Each species is given a selective list of references and synonymy, richly illustrated descriptions of males and females, a list or summary of the examined material, and a synopsis of the known distribution and biology. Pegomya ringdahli sp. nov., previously confused with P. scapularis (Zetterstedt, 1846), is described from Fennoscandia. Lectotypes are designated for Anthomyia fulgens Meigen, 1826 and Pegomyia (Pegomyia) furva Ringdahl, 1938. An identification key is given to all 17 species (males and females) of Pegomya that supposedly feed as larvae on sporocarps of Boletaceae and Suillaceae in Europe.

Supplementary catalogue of the Anthomyiidae (Diptera) of China.

The present catalogue of Anthomyiidae attempts to list all species (173) described or recorded from mainland China (165) and Taiwan (8) that for various reasons are not treated in "Flies of China" from 1998. The catalogue further lists Chinese species that are presently standing in new generic combinations compared to those of "Flies of China", species that have changed name because of synonymy or misidentification, and species upgraded from subspecies to species. Regional distribution by province is specified for all species. Literature sources to descriptions or records of anthomyiid species from China are only given for those 173 species not covered by "Flies of China". Four new combinations are proposed: Enneastigmafulva (Malloch, 1934), Enneastigmahenanensis (Ge & Fan, 1982), Enneastigmalengshanensis (Xue, 2001) and Hylemyaqinghaiensis (Fan, Chen & Ma, 1989). Eremomyiaturbida Huckett, 1951 is revived from synonymy with Chortophilatriticiperda Stein, 1900 (current name Eutrichotaturbida). One subspecies is upgraded to species: Adiaasiatica Fan, 1988. The following eight new synonymies are proposed: Deliapectinatorfuscilateralis Fan in Fan & Zheng, 1992 with Deliapectinator Suwa, 1984; Eremomyiapilimanapilimarginata Fan & Qian in Fan, Chen, Ma & Ge, 1982 with Eremomyiaturbida Huckett, 1951 (current name Eutrichotaturbida); Lopesohylemya Fan, Chen & Ma, 1989 with Hylemya Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830; Deliomyia Fan in Fan et al., 1988 with Subhylemyia Ringdahl, 1933; Hydrophoriadisticrassa Xue & Bai, 2009 with Hydrophoriapullata Wu, Liu & Wei, 1995 (current name Zaphnepullata); Heteroterma Wei, 2006 with Scathophaga Meigen, 1803; Heterotermafanjingensis Wei, 2006 with Scathophagacurtipilata Feng, 2002; Scatomyzafansipanicola Ozerov in Ozerov & Krivosheina, 2011 with Scathophagacurtipilata Feng, 2002. The genus Heteroterma Wei, 2006 and species Heterotermafanjingensis Wei, 2006 are reassigned from Anthomyiidae to Scathophagidae.

A review of genus-group names in Diptera (Insecta) that J.C. Fabricius "borrowed" from other dipterists and proposed as new in his systematic works from 1775 to 1805.

It is shown that a total of eight pre-existing genus-group names in Diptera were "borrowed" and deliberately given new identities in the systematic works of J.C. Fabricius: Bibio Fabricius, 1775, Ceria Fabricius, 1794, Hirtea Fabricius, 1798, Mulio Fabricius, 1798, Scatophaga Fabricius, 1805, Sicus Fabricius, 1798, Thereva Fabricius, 1798 and Voluccella Fabricius, 1794. These names are reviewed from the standpoint that they are nomenclaturally available as intentional homonymous proposals of names for new genus-group taxa. New type-species designations are made for Bibio Fabricius, Mulio Fabricius, and Scatophaga Fabricius. Bibio Fabricius, 1775 is recognized as a senior synonym of Thereva Latreille, 1797, syn. n., but is invalid as it is a junior homonym of Bibio Geoffroy, 1762. Scatophaga Fabricius, 1805 is recognized as a junior synonym of Psila Meigen, 1803, syn. n. The nominal species Musca suilla Fabricius, 1794 has been misinterpreted as a species of Scathophaga Meigen, 1803 by subsequent authors. Scathophaga spurca Meigen, 1826 is revived as the valid name for Scathophaga suilla auct. nec (Fabricius, 1794), stat. rev. A lectotype is designated for Musca suilla Fabricius and it is shown to belong to the scathophagid Norellisoma spinimanum (Fallén, 1819), syn. n. In order to maintain stability of nomenclature and prevailing usage, reversal of precedence is invoked to declare Cordylura spinimana Fallén, 1819 as a nomen protectum and Musca suilla Fabricius, 1794 as a nomen oblitum. 

Fauna Europaea - all European animal species on the web.

Fauna Europaea is Europe's main zoological taxonomic index, making the scientific names and distributions of all living, currently known, multicellular, European land and freshwater animals species integrally available in one authoritative database. Fauna Europaea covers about 260,000 taxon names, including 145,000 accepted (sub)species, assembled by a large network of (>400) leading specialists, using advanced electronic tools for data collations with data quality assured through sophisticated validation routines. Fauna Europaea started in 2000 as an EC funded FP5 project and provides a unique taxonomic reference for many user-groups such as scientists, governments, industries, nature conservation communities and educational programs. Fauna Europaea was formally accepted as an INSPIRE standard for Europe, as part of the European Taxonomic Backbone established in PESI. Fauna Europaea provides a public web portal at faunaeur.org with links to other key biodiversity services, is installed as a taxonomic backbone in wide range of biodiversity services and actively contributes to biodiversity informatics innovations in various initiatives and EC programs.

Checklist of the family Anthomyiidae (Diptera) of Finland.

An updated checklist of the the genera and species of Anthomyiidae (Diptera) found in Finland is provided.