Mushroom mosquitoes
| Mushroom mosquitoes | ||||||||||
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| Mycetophilidae | ||||||||||
| Newman , 1834 |
The fungus mosquitoes (Mycetophilidae, fungus mosquitoes in the narrower sense) are a family of very small mosquitoes (Nematocera) in the superfamily of the Sciaroidea . Up to now about 3000 species in 150 genera have been described worldwide. Almost 1000 species and subspecies occur in Europe . The mushroom mosquitoes are well known from inclusions in amber . Hence we know that they were well established and diversified as early as the Cretaceous .
features
The little mosquitoes have a slender and delicate body with long, thin legs. What is striking about them are the humped thorax and the long, thread-like antennae . These consist of 8 to 16 segments. Your mouthparts have receded. In addition to the compound eyes , they also have point eyes ( Ocelli ). The wing veins are more powerful at the front than at the back.
Way of life and development
The full-grown mosquitoes can be found in damp, cool and shady places, especially in forests or in swamp areas, but also on watercourses and meadows. There are also species that live in caves. In the spring and summer, the mosquitoes form dense swarms at times, mostly males ready to mate.
The mating takes place in the vicinity of the egg-laying places either in flight or while sitting. The eggs are either laid on mushrooms or on the ground. The larvae of most species live oligophagous on the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms or on their mycelia and can also eat poisonous mushrooms. Only a few species are monophagous or polyphagous . In addition, there are species that live in the ground litter and feed on rotting plant material or yeast . A few species have also been found on mosses , while other species are even partially predatory. Larvae of the subfamilies Mycomyinae, Sciophilinae, and Leiinae can create sticky threads that they use to catch prey. These threads are either made of slime or silk. They are usually covered with sticky or poisonous droplets. If an insect gets caught in it, it is covered with slime or silk threads. The larvae usually have a shelter near their threads, where they hide and where they eat their prey. Development is complete after about two weeks, with pupation taking place near the feeding site. The hatched adults then have a life expectancy of 10 to 20 days. The overwintering usually takes place in the larval stage, but sometimes the adult animals also overwinter.
Bioluminescence
Around a dozen species of fungus mosquitoes, some as adults or as pupae, have the ability to produce bioluminescence , which is unique among the two-winged birds . In addition, all larvae of these species can glow. The larvae of predatory species use the light signals to lure their prey, which then gets caught in adhesive threads. However, when they light up, they sometimes become victims of predators themselves.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Mycetophilidae have recently been divided into several families such as the Bolitophilidae , Diadocidiidae , Ditomyiidae , Keroplatidae, and Mycetobiidae . Together with the Sciaridae are all in the superfamily of the Sciaroidea or mushroom mosquitoes i. w. S.
Fossil evidence
Mushroom mosquitoes are among the most common fossil Diptera. The oldest evidence is a find from a sub-Jurassic deposit in England. Further fungus mosquitoes from the Jura were found in Germany and East Asia. Cretaceous records of fungus mosquitoes are known from various amber deposits (Canada, Siberia and New Jersey). About 150 species from around 50 genera have been described from the Eocene Baltic amber . The members of this family make up about one eighth of all Nematocera found in Baltic amber and are thus the most common family of this suborder after the Chironomidae and the Sciaridae . In addition, there are individual finds from other Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary amber deposits (including Mexico ( Chiapas amber ), Myanmar (Upper Cretaceous Burmite ), Dominican Republic and China).
literature
- Eberhard Plassmann: The mushroom mosquitoes (Diptera, Sciaroidea excl. Sciaridae): inconspicuous, but widespread. In: Stapfia. 96, Linz 2012, pp. 235–243 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
Web links
- Lexicon of biology : fungus mosquitoes . Spectrum, Heidelberg 1999,
- British Insects: the Families of Diptera
- Fam.Mycetophilidae (Fungivoridae) fungus mosquitoes ( Memento from July 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mycetophilidae. Fauna Europaea, accessed February 1, 2007 .
- ↑ Mycetophilidae. Australasian / Oceanian Diptera Catalog, accessed February 1, 2007 .
- ↑ John M. Sivinski: Phototropism, bioluminescence and the Diptera , Florida Entomologist 81, No. 3, 1998, pp. 282-292 ( PDF on fcla.edu).
- ↑ http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/fossilcat/fossmyceto.html fossil Diptera.
- ↑ George O. Poinar, Jr .: Life in Amber. Stanford University Press, Stanford (Cal.) 1992, ISBN 0-8047-2001-0 , 350 pages, 147 figs., 10 plates.
- ^ Wolfgang Weitschat and Wilfried Wichard: Atlas of the plants and animals in the Baltic amber. Pfeil-Verlag, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-931516-45-8 , 256 pages (with numerous illustrations).
