Milichiidae

Freeloader flies Neophyllomyza on bee, copyright Beatriz Moisset.

Belongs within: Schizophora.

The Milichiidae are a group of small flies that are mostly saprophages or coprophages though a number of species are associated with social Hymenoptera as inquilines or kleptoparasites. Members of several genera have been found in assocation with large spiders and feeding on partially digested prey (Swann 2010). Members are divided between the subfamilies Madizinae, with a prominent vibrissal angle, the vibrissa below the lower margin of the eye, and without a prominent anal area on the wing, and the Milichiinae, with the vibrissal angle scarcely evident and the vibrissa above the level of the lower margin of the eye, and a conspicuously broad anal area on the wing (Sabrosky 1987).

Characters (from Swann 2010): Small (body length 1–7 mm), often largely brown or black, occasionally orange or yellow; males of some genera with silvery microtomentum on abdomen. Usually with two or three pairs of medioclinate frontal bristles and two or three pairs of lateroclinate to proclinate orbital bristles; rarely with uniform row of 8–10 pairs of reclinate fronto-orbital bristles or frontal and orbital setae greatly reduced to absent. Frons usually with two rows of interfrontal setae, sometimes on distinctly shining stripes; lunule often with one or two pairs of setae; proboscis often elongate, geniculate. Wing with humeral and subcostal break; region of latter often modified into costal lappet; cell cup closed, small. Male terminalia with pregonites fused with hypandrium and postgonites absent.

<==Milichiidae [Phyllomyzidae] S10
    |  i. s.: Costalima myrmicola S10
    |         Pseudomilichia S10
    |         Ulia poecilogastra S10
    |         Microsimus S10
    |         Prosaetomilichia O98
    |         Pseudodesmometopa succineum Hennig 1971 P92
    |--Milichiinae S10
    |    |--Eusiphona S87
    |    |    |--E. mira S10
    |    |    `--E. vittata S10
    |    |--Milichiella S87 [incl. Eccoptomma S10]
    |    |    |--M. bisignata S10
    |    |    `--M. lacteipennis S10
    |    |--Milichia S10
    |    |    |--M. aethiops S10
    |    |    |--M. albomaculata (Strobl 1900) C-T92
    |    |    |--M. piscivora CM91
    |    |    `--M. speciosa Meigen 1830 C-T92
    |    `--Pholeomyia S87
    |         |--P. comans S87
    |         |--P. dampfi S10
    |         |--P. indecora S87
    |         `--P. leucozona S10
    `--Madizinae [Phyllomyzinae] S10
         |--Madiza glabra Fallén 1820 C-T92
         |--Paramyia nitens S87, S10
         |--Aldrichiomyza agromyzina S87, S10
         |--Stomosis S87
         |    |--S. innominata S10
         |    `--S. rufula S10
         |--Leptometopa S87
         |    |--L. halteralis S10
         |    `--L. latipes (Meigen 1830) C-T92 [=Desmometopa latipes S10]
         |--Desmometopa S87
         |    |--D. m-nigrum (Zetterstedt 1848) C-T92
         |    |--D. sordida (Fallén 1820) C-T92
         |    `--D. varipalpis Malloch 1927 C-T92
         |--Phyllomyza S10
         |    |--P. hurdi Sabrosky 1963 P92
         |    |--P. jaegeri Hennig 1967 P92
         |    `--P. securicornis S10
         `--Neophyllomyza Melander 1913 S87, C-T92
              |--N. acyglossa (Villeneuve 1920) C-T92
              |--N. magnipalpus S10
              |--N. quadricornis S10
              `--N. wulpi S10

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[C-T92] Carles-Tolrá, M. 1992. New and interesting records of Diptera Acalyptrata from Spain. Part I: Acartophthalmidae, Opomyzidae, Anthomyzidae, Asteiidae, Carnidae, Tethinidae, Milichiidae and Cryptochetidae. Bull. Annls Soc. R. Belge Ent. 128: 343–353.

[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).

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

[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.

[S87] Sabrosky, C. W. 1987. Milichiidae. In: McAlpine, J. F. (ed.) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 2 pp. 903–908. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.

[S10] Swann, J. E. 2010. Milichiidae (milichiid 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. 2 pp. 1125–1136. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.

Last updated: 30 June 2021.