Nemestrinidae

Neorhynchocephalus sackenii, copyright Robert A. Behrstock.

Belongs within: Orthorrhapha.

The Nemestrinidae are a group of medium to large, compact, usually hairy flies with parasitic larvae. Eggs are laid in cracks and crevices in wood, with the first-instar larvae being mobile and able to actively seek a suitable host. Mature larvae reside in the haemocoel of their host, connected to the outside world via a respiratory tube. Where known, larvae of Trichopsideinae develop as parasites of grasshoppers (Acrididae) whereas Atriadops parasitise katydids (Tettigoniidae). Hirmoneura attack the larvae of scarabaeid beetles (Woodley 2009).

Characters (from Colless & McAlpine 1991): Antennal segment 3 simple and styliform, or terminating in a slender, simple or three-segmented style; veins R₄₊₅ and M₁₊₂ fused to form a strong composite oblque vein; tibiae without apical spurs; empodium pulvilliform; cerci of female unsegmented, sometimes conspicuously long.

Nemestrinidae [Hirmoneuridae]
    |--Archinemestriinae BLM02
    |--Hirmoneura [Hirmoneurinae] W09
    |    |--H. elenae GE05
    |    `--H. obscura W09
    |--Atriadops [Atriadopsinae] W09
    |    |--A. macula W09
    |    `--A. vespertilio (Loew 1858) [=Colax vespertilio] H61
    |--Nemestrina Latreille 1802 RD77, L02 [Nemestrininae T81]
    |    |--*N. reticulata L02 [=Anthrax (Nemestrina) reticulata G20]
    |    |--N. longirostris RD77
    |    `--N. perezi RD77
    `--Trichopsideinae W09
         |--Fallenia W09
         |--Trichopsidea W09 [incl. Symmictus T81]
         |    |--T. clausa W09
         |    `--T. oestracea CM91
         `--Neorhynchocephalus W09
              |--N. sackenii W09
              `--N. volaticus W09

Nemestrinidae incertae sedis:
  Protonemestrius rohdendorfi GE05, BLM02
  Prohirmoneura jurassica GE05
  Florinemestrius GE05
  Sinonemestrius GE05
  Iberomosca ponomarenkoi GE05
  Prosoeca H61
    |--P. accincta (Wiedemann 1830) [=Nemestrina accincta] H61
    |--P. caffraria Lichtwardt 1910 H61
    |--P. saxea GE05
    |--P. umbrosa H61
    `--P. westermanni Wiedem. 1821 [=Nemestrina westermanni] R01
  Nemestrius incertus GE05
  Moegistorrhynchus longirostris GE05
  Trichophthalma laetilinea WT11, CM91
  Hyrmophlaebini W09
    |--Hirmoneuropsis W09
    `--Hyrmophlaeba W09
         |--H. brevirostris W09
         |--H. texana [=Hirmoneura texana] W09
         `--H. vicarians W09
  Neohirmoneura psilotes W09
  Cyclopsidea CM91
  Nycterimyia O98
  Rhynchocephalus R01

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BLM02] Blagoderov, V. A., E. D. Lukashevich & M. B. Mostovski. 2002. Order Diptera Linné, 1758. The true flies (=Muscida Laicharting, 1781). In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 227–240. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.

[CM91] Colless, D. H., & D. K. McAlpine. 1991. Diptera (flies). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 717–786. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[H61] Hull, F. M. 1961. Diptera (Brachycera): Nemestrinidae. In: Hanström, B., P. Brinck & G. Rudebeck (eds) South African Animal Life: Results of the Lund University Expedition in 1950–1951 vol. 8 pp. 413–414. Almqvist & Wiksell: Uppsala.

[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.

[O98] Oosterbroek, P. 1998. The Families of Diptera of the Malay Archipelago. Brill: Leiden.

[R01] Ricardo, G. 1901. Notes on Diptera from South Africa (concluded). Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 7: 89–110.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[T81] Teskey, H. J. 1981. Nemestrinidae. In: McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, H. J. Teskey, J. R. Vockeroth & D. S. Wood (eds) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 1 pp. 585–588. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.

[W09] Woodley, N. E. 2009. Nemestrinidae (tangle-veined flies). In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 1 pp. 557–560. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.

Last updated: 30 December 2020.