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 (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
    |--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 S10
    |         |--P. comans S87
    |         |--P. dampfi S10
    |         |--P. indecora BW09
    |         `--P. leucozona S10
    `--Madizinae [Phyllomyzinae] S10
         |--Madiza glabra Fallén 1820 C-T92
         |--Paramyia nitens S87
         |--Aldrichiomyza agromyzina S87
         |--Stomosis S87
         |    |--S. innominata S10
         |    `--S. rufula S10
         |--Desmometopa S87
         |    |--D. m-nigrum (Zetterstedt 1848) C-T92
         |    |--D. sordida (Fallén 1820) C-T92
         |    `--D. varipalpis Malloch 1927 C-T92
         |--Leptometopa S87
         |    |--L. halteralis S10
         |    `--L. latipes (Meigen 1830) C-T92 [=Desmometopa latipes S10]
         |--Phyllomyza S10
         |    |--P. hurdi S87
         |    |--P. jaegeri S87
         |    `--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

[BW09] Buck, M., N. E. Woodley, A. Borkent, D. M. Wood, T. Pape, J. R. Vockeroth, V. Michelsen & S. A. Marshall. 2009. Key to Diptera families—adults. 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. 95–156. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.

[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.

[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.