Tethinidae
| Tethinidae | ||||||||||||
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Tethina lusitanica |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tethinidae | ||||||||||||
| Hendel , 1916 | ||||||||||||
| Genera | ||||||||||||
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The Tethinidae are a family of the two-winged (Diptera) and belong to the flies (Brachycera). They are distributed worldwide and are known to date with around 160 species in 17 genera. There are 35 species in Europe.
features
The flies are small and only reach a body length of 1.5 to 3 millimeters and usually have a grayish to brown body color. Their thread-like antennae are tripartite. The last segment is rounded. Your mouthparts are normal. The maxillary palps consist of only one limb.
Way of life
Almost all species of the Tethinidae live on coasts or in similar, salty areas. Only a few species occur in meadows, forests and arid desert areas. The adults are mainly found on rotting seaweed and dune vegetation as well as on the beach at low tide, in marshland and in mangrove areas . The animals can also be found in bodies of water that are polluted by organic waste, such as slaughterhouse waste or waste from poultry farms, and are thus enriched with salts. Some tropical species have specialized in guano for their way of life . Very little is known about the way of life of the larvae. Most species develop on rotting seaweed.
credentials
- ↑ Tethinidae. Fauna Europaea, accessed August 7, 2007 .
literature
- Haupt J., Haupt H .: Flies and mosquitoes - observation, way of life , Augsburg 1998
