Butterfly mosquitoes

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Butterfly mosquitoes
Clogmia albipunctata

Clogmia albipunctata

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Fly (Diptera)
Subordination : Mosquitoes (Nematocera)
Partial order : Psychodomorpha
Superfamily : Psychodoidea
Family : Butterfly mosquitoes
Scientific name
Psychodidae
Newman , 1834
Subfamilies
Wing hair
antenna
Psychoda on oak leaf (video, 1m 37s)

The butterfly mosquitoes (Psychodidae), also called butterfly flies , are a family of the two-winged birds (Diptera) and belong to the mosquitoes (Nematocera). Around 2850 species of this group of animals live worldwide, around 110 species are known from Germany. These are mostly very small mosquitoes with a body length between one and five millimeters.

The body and the wings of the butterfly mosquito are usually very hairy. The relatively large wings are raised slightly in the resting position and placed on their backs like a roof, which makes them resemble tiny butterflies . The males in particular also usually have very contrasting hairs, the females are inconspicuously drawn.

Way of life

Most species of butterfly gnats suckle on plant sap or nectar , many species take no food at all as adults . The females of the genus Sycorax sting frogs and suck blood there.

The yellowish sandflies (subfamily Phlebotominae) from the tropics and subtropics are particularly notorious . They are carriers of the oriental bump and the kala azar , which are caused by Leishmania species (parasitic protozoa ). The species Phlebotomus papatasi also lives in southern Europe and is the causative agent of Pappataci fever , triggered by a virus . Phlebotomus species suckle on all terrestrial vertebrates and, when bitten, release a pheromone that attracts other animals of the same species (aggregation pheromone, produced in the palps ).

Butterfly mosquitoes are not particularly good active fliers. They are often carried by the wind, but they can steer very well and reach their destination reliably even over long distances or avoid obstacles. The males often have conspicuous appendages on their breasts in which they produce sexual attractants. Immediately after copulation , the males also attract other males. The eggs are usually laid singly or in small clutches, often near water. The species Psychoda phalaenoides, known as the "passageway" mosquito, and some other species are attracted by the smell of feces and urine and lay eggs near the source of these smells. The smell of the arum attracts the females and so often thousands of the larvae of the butterfly mosquito and other flies and mosquitoes live in its flowers, while the adults take over the pollination .

Larval development

The larvae of the butterfly mosquito are a maximum of four millimeters long and slender. Only the larvae of the Sycorax species are isle-shaped. All larvae have a distinct head with a head capsule. They are often equipped with numerous processes between which camouflaging debris can accumulate. Aquatic larvae from lime-rich waters often have a lime crust. Some species are flattened and have reinforced back parts (genus Telmatoscopus ). The foremost and the rearmost pair of stigmas are open for breathing, and anal papillae have also been described, which are probably used for osmoregulation . The larvae are mainly found in shallow water areas, on rocks that have been trickled over and in small pools of water. Sometimes they prefer heavily polluted waters such as cesspools, sinks or sewage treatment plants (such as the abortion flies). Many species also live in the forest floor, in damp moss or in mushrooms. The pupae are usually exposed and rarely have horns.

Species in Europe (selection)

Fossil evidence

The origins of this family probably go back to the border between Perm and Triassic . The oldest fossil representatives of this family can only be found in the Lower Jura of northeast Germany and the Middle Jura of Siberia. Further evidence from the Mesozoic era comes from amber from the Lower Cretaceous ( Lebanon amber , about 130 million years old). Butterfly mosquitoes appear comparatively frequently and in several genera in Eocene Baltic amber . Representatives of this family have also been identified from other tertiary amber deposits, including Dominican amber and birchite . It is noteworthy that in almost every amber deposit that has produced representatives of this family, the genus Trichomyia , which is still widespread worldwide, is the most individual and species-richest.

literature

Web links

Commons : Butterfly mosquitoes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Butterfly fly - Interesting facts and control. www.helpster.de, accessed on August 4, 2017 .
  2. ^ Catalog of Life. Catalog of Life, accessed in 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b László Gozmány: Vocabularium nominum animalium europae septem linguis redactum. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1979, ISBN 963-05-1381-1 .
  4. ^ Theodor CH Cole : Dictionary of animal names: Latin-German-English German-Latin-English. Springer Spectrum 2000 (reprint 2015) ISBN 978-3662442418 .
  5. ^ F. L. Lambrecht: Palaeoecology of tsetse flies and sleeping sickness in Africa. In: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 124, 1980 (Eng.).
  6. ↑ J. Ansorge: Tanyderidae and Psychodidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Lower Jurassic of northeastern Germany. - In Paläontologische Zeitschrift 68 (1), 1994, pp. 199-210.
  7. ↑ Fossil Diptera (Engl.)
  8. ^ W. Henning: Insect fossils from the lower chalk. IV. Psychodidae (Phlebotominae). In: Stuttgart contributions to natural history. Series A. 214, 1972, pp. 1-12, quoted in: George O. Poinar, Jr.: Life in Amber. Stanford University Press, Stanford 1992, ISBN 0-8047-2001-0 .
  9. ↑ George O. Poinar Jr.: Life in Amber. Stanford University Press, Stanford 1992, ISBN 0-8047-2001-0 (English).
  10. ↑ Wolfgang Weitschat, Wilfried Wichard: Atlas of plants and animals in the Baltic amber. Pfeil, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-931516-45-8 .