Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Yellow Bellied Fly

Sciara hemerobioides
The dark winged fungus gnats (Sciaridae) are a large family of flies (c. 1,700 species worldwide (1)), with 104 species alone described in Ireland (2). They are commonly found in moist environments, and some the larvae of some species are pests of commercial mushroom farms, specifically Lycoriella mali (3).
Sciara hemerobioides
Normally these 1 – 11 mm long flies are quite drab in appearance, with black bodies and appendages and dark wings (as the common name suggests). However one species that bucks the trend is Sciara hemerobioides. While its head, thorax, legs and wings are dark like other Sciaridae, it has a bright yellow abdomen with bold black strips across it. The adults can be seen in a variety of damp habitats, such as heathlands and wetlands, where the adults feed on nectar from umbelliferous flowers (4). The larvae feed on fungi and rotting vegetation.

References:
  1. Surhone et al., 2010. Sciaridae p. 7
  2. Ferriss et al. 2009, Irish Biodiversity: A Taxonomic Inventory of Fauna p. 100
  3. Mullen et al., . Medical and Veterinary Entomology pp. 137-138
  4. Menzel et al., 2006. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 146 pp. 1-147

5 comments:

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  2. Last Sunday we spotted this beautiful beetle kind of flying insect at Lanelly Wetland Center, I and Praveen photographed them and it was pain staking to get the close details of them, still we managed to get some decent images. But while struggling for the ID I luckily stopped here and I got what I was searching for.
    Thanks and regards.
    Ajay

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  3. Replies
    1. Thanks Dear Friend John. Your Blog is very special and informative. I would like to join.
      Best Wishes.
      Ajay
      Wales.

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  4. I have hundreds of these yellow bellied flies on my sweet corn. Should I try to get rid of them>

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