34-432: Hoverflies , also called flower flies or syrphids , make up the insect family Syrphidae . As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers ; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen , while the larvae ( maggots ) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs , specifically detritivores , eating decaying plant and animal matter in
68-500: A brain and a ventral nerve cord . Most insects reproduce by laying eggs . Insects breathe air through a system of paired openings along their sides, connected to small tubes that take air directly to the tissues. The blood therefore does not carry oxygen; it is only partly contained in vessels, and some circulates in an open hemocoel . Insect vision is mainly through their compound eyes , with additional small ocelli . Many insects can hear, using tympanal organs , which may be on
102-563: A hundred species, are marine. Insects such as snow scorpionflies flourish in cold habitats including the Arctic and at high altitude. Insects such as desert locusts , ants, beetles, and termites are adapted to some of the hottest and driest environments on earth, such as the Sonoran Desert . Insects form a clade , a natural group with a common ancestor, among the arthropods . A phylogenetic analysis by Kjer et al. (2016) places
136-511: A natural means of reducing levels of pests. Gardeners, therefore, sometimes use companion plants to attract hoverflies. Those reputed to do so include Alyssum spp., Iberis umbellata , statice , buckwheat , chamomile , parsley , and yarrow . Many syrphids, such as Toxomerus marginatus , are attracted to herbivore-induced plant volatiles , and there are commercial formulations of said volatiles, like methyl salicylate , which can be used to attract them for biocontrol purposes. Larvae in
170-625: A nearly immobile pupa . Insects that undergo three-stage metamorphosis lack a pupa, developing through a series of increasingly adult-like nymphal stages. The higher level relationship of the insects is unclear. Fossilized insects of enormous size have been found from the Paleozoic Era, including giant dragonfly-like insects with wingspans of 55 to 70 cm (22 to 28 in). The most diverse insect groups appear to have coevolved with flowering plants . Adult insects typically move about by walking and flying; some can swim. Insects are
204-557: A species of hoverfly who exhibit Batesian mimicry. With a few exceptions, Hoverflies are distinguished from other flies by having a spurious vein, located parallel to their fourth longitudinal wing vein. Adults feed mainly on nectar and pollen . Many species also hover around flowers, lending to their common name. Bee flies of the family Bombyliidae often mimic Hymenoptera and hover around flowers, as well, rendering some bombyliid species hard to tell apart from Syrphidae at first glance. Hoverflies can, nevertheless, be distinguished in
238-546: A territorial display seeking females, while female hovering serves to inspect ovipositing sites. The size of hoverflies varies depending on the species. For example Paragus tibialis is 3–5 mm ( 1 ⁄ 8 – 13 ⁄ 64 in) long, while Criorhina nigriventris is 13.6–20.6 mm ( 17 ⁄ 32 – 13 ⁄ 16 in) long. Some, such as members of the genus Baccha , are small, elongated, and slender, while others, such as members of Criorhina , are large, hairy, and yellow and black. As members of
272-525: A variety of ways. Male moths can sense the pheromones of female moths over great distances. Other species communicate with sounds: crickets stridulate , or rub their wings together, to attract a mate and repel other males. Lampyrid beetles communicate with light. Humans regard many insects as pests , especially those that damage crops, and attempt to control them using insecticides and other techniques. Others are parasitic , and may act as vectors of diseases . Insect pollinators are essential to
306-701: A wide range of plant species through those that specialize in a narrow range of plants. Although hoverflies are often considered mainly nonselective pollinators, some hoverflies species are highly selective and carry pollen from one plant species. Cheilosia albitarsis is thought to only visit Ranunculus repens . Specific flower preferences differ among species, but syrphid fly species have repeatedly been shown to prefer white- and yellow-coloured flowers. Nonvisual flower cues such as olfactory cues also help these flies to find flowers, especially those that are not yellow. Many syrphid fly species have short, unspecialized mouth parts and tend to feed on flowers that are more open as
340-734: The American hoverfly , Eupeodes americanus , is common in the Nearctic realm , and the common hoverfly , Melangyna viridiceps , is common in the Australasian realm . About 6,000 species and 200 genera are in the family. While some hoverfly larvae are aquatic and are often found in stagnant water, those of species that prey upon aphids and other plant parasites are usually terrestrial, residing on leaves. Adults are often found near flowers, their principal food source being nectar and pollen. Some species are inquilines ; for instance, members of
374-529: The Diptera , all hoverflies have a single functional pair of wings, with the hind wings reduced to balancing organs . Many species are brightly colored, with spots, stripes, and bands of yellow or brown covering their bodies. Due to this coloration, they are often mistaken both by insect-eating birds and by humans for wasps or bees ; they exhibit Batesian mimicry . Despite this, hoverflies are harmless to humans. Drone flies, Eristalis tenax , are an example of
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#1732801231177408-853: The Latin word insectum from in , "cut up", as insects appear to be cut into three parts. The Latin word was introduced by Pliny the Elder who calqued the Ancient Greek word ἔντομον éntomon "insect" (as in entomology ) from ἔντομος éntomos "cut in pieces"; this was Aristotle 's term for this class of life in his biology , also in reference to their notched bodies. The English word insect first appears in 1601 in Philemon Holland 's translation of Pliny. In common speech, insects and other terrestrial arthropods are often called bugs . Entomologists to some extent reserve
442-2235: The Paraneoptera , and Kjer et al. 2016 for the Holometabola . The numbers of described extant species (boldface for groups with over 100,000 species) are from Stork 2018. Archaeognatha (hump-backed/jumping bristletails, 513 spp) [REDACTED] Zygentoma (silverfish, firebrats, fishmoths, 560 spp) [REDACTED] Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies, 5,899 spp) [REDACTED] Ephemeroptera (mayflies, 3,240 spp) [REDACTED] Zoraptera (angel insects, 37 spp) [REDACTED] Dermaptera (earwigs, 1,978 spp) [REDACTED] Plecoptera (stoneflies, 3,743 spp) [REDACTED] Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, 23,855 spp) [REDACTED] Grylloblattodea (ice crawlers, 34 spp) [REDACTED] Mantophasmatodea (gladiators, 15 spp) [REDACTED] Phasmatodea (stick insects, 3,014 spp) [REDACTED] Embioptera (webspinners, 463 spp) [REDACTED] Mantodea (mantises, 2,400 spp) [REDACTED] Blattodea (cockroaches and termites, 7,314 spp) [REDACTED] Psocodea (book lice, barklice and sucking lice, 11,000 spp) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Hemiptera (true bugs, 103,590 spp) [REDACTED] Thysanoptera (thrips, 5,864 spp) [REDACTED] Hymenoptera (sawflies, wasps, bees, ants, 116,861 spp) [REDACTED] Strepsiptera (twisted-wing flies, 609 spp) [REDACTED] Coleoptera (beetles, 386,500 spp) [REDACTED] Raphidioptera (snakeflies, 254 spp) [REDACTED] Neuroptera (lacewings, 5,868 spp) [REDACTED] Megaloptera (alderflies and dobsonflies, 354 spp) [REDACTED] Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths, 157,338 spp) [REDACTED] Trichoptera (caddisflies, 14,391 spp) [REDACTED] Diptera (true flies, 155,477 spp) [REDACTED] Mecoptera (scorpionflies, 757 spp) [REDACTED] Siphonaptera (fleas, 2,075 spp) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Rat-tailed maggot Rat-tailed maggots are
476-439: The class Insecta . They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum . Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton , a three-part body ( head , thorax and abdomen ), three pairs of jointed legs , compound eyes , and a pair of antennae . Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species ; they represent more than half of all animal species. The insect nervous system consists of
510-484: The larvae of certain species of hoverflies belonging to the tribes Eristalini and Sericomyiini . A characteristic feature of rat-tailed maggots is a tube-like, telescoping breathing siphon located at its posterior end. This acts like a snorkel, allowing the larva to breathe air while submerged. The siphon is usually about as long as the maggot's body (20 mm (0.79 in) when mature), but can be extended as long as 150 mm (5.9 in). This organ gives
544-623: The Hemiptera (true bugs), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Diptera (true flies), Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, and bees), and Coleoptera (beetles), each with more than 100,000 described species. Insects are distributed over every continent and almost every terrestrial habitat. There are many more species in the tropics , especially in rainforests , than in temperate zones. The world's regions have received widely differing amounts of attention from entomologists. The British Isles have been thoroughly surveyed, so that Gullan and Cranston 2014 state that
578-443: The field by anatomical features such as: Unlike adults, the maggots of hoverflies feed on a variety of foods. Some are saprotrophs , eating decaying plant or animal matter, while others are insectivores , eating aphids , thrips , and other plant-sucking insects. Predatory species are beneficial to farmers and gardeners, because aphids destroy crops, and hoverfly maggots are often used in biological control . That includes one of
612-407: The genus Volucella can be found in bumblebee nests, while members of Microdon are myrmecophiles , found in ant or termite nests. Others can be found in decomposing vegetation. Hoverflies are important pollinators of flowering plants in many ecosystems worldwide. Syrphid flies are frequent flower visitors to a wide range of wild plants, as well as agricultural crops, and are often considered
646-608: The insects among the Hexapoda , six-legged animals with segmented bodies; their closest relatives are the Diplura (bristletails). Collembola (springtails) [REDACTED] Protura (coneheads) [REDACTED] Diplura (two-pronged bristletails) [REDACTED] Insecta (=Ectognatha) [REDACTED] The internal phylogeny is based on the works of Wipfler et al. 2019 for the Polyneoptera , Johnson et al. 2018 for
680-506: The larva its common name. The most commonly encountered rat-tailed maggot is the larva of the drone fly, Eristalis tenax . It lives in stagnant, oxygen -deprived water, with a high organic content. It is fairly tolerant of pollution and can live in sewage lagoons and cesspools . These larvae, commonly called "mousies", are cultured and sold as fish bait . They are especially popular in ice fishing . Occasionally, cases have been documented of human intestinal myiasis caused by
714-683: The larvae are accidentally ingested from contaminated food. The oldest known fossils of crown group Syrphidae are from the Eocene aged Florissant Formation , Green River Formation and Baltic amber . The genus Prosyrphus , found in Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian ) Burmese amber , appears to represent a stem group to the family. Hoverflies are a cosmopolitan family found in most biomes , except extreme deserts, tundra at extremely high latitudes, and Antarctica . Certain species are more common in certain areas than others; for example,
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#1732801231177748-406: The legs or other parts of the body. Their sense of smell is via receptors, usually on the antennae and the mouthparts. Nearly all insects hatch from eggs . Insect growth is constrained by the inelastic exoskeleton, so development involves a series of molts . The immature stages often differ from the adults in structure, habit and habitat. Groups that undergo four-stage metamorphosis often have
782-522: The most common widespread hoverfly species, Episyrphus balteatus , the larvae of which feed on aphids. An example of a well-known hoverfly maggot is the rat-tailed maggot of the drone fly , Eristalis tenax . It has a breathing siphon at its rear end, giving it its name. The species lives in stagnant water, such as sewage and lagoons. The maggots also have a commercial use, and are sometimes sold for ice fishing . Very rarely, hoverfly larvae have caused accidental myiasis in humans. That occurs when
816-402: The name "bugs" for a narrow category of " true bugs ", insects of the order Hemiptera , such as cicadas and shield bugs . Other terrestrial arthropods, such as centipedes , millipedes , woodlice , spiders , mites and scorpions , are sometimes confused with insects, since they have a jointed exoskeleton. Adult insects are the only arthropods that ever have wings, with up to two pairs on
850-610: The nectar and pollen can be easily accessed. Also, a number of interactions occur between orchids and hoverflies. The orchid species Epipactis veratrifolia mimics alarm pheromones of aphids which attracts pollinating hoverflies. Another plant, the slipper orchid in southwest China, also achieves pollination by deceit by exploiting the innate yellow color preference of syrphids. Adult syrphid flies are pollinators. Larvae of many hoverfly species prey upon pest insects, including aphids and leafhoppers , which spread some diseases such as curly top , so they are seen in biocontrol as
884-554: The only invertebrates that can achieve sustained powered flight; insect flight evolved just once. Many insects are at least partly aquatic , and have larvae with gills; in some species, the adults too are aquatic. Some species, such as water striders , can walk on the surface of water. Insects are mostly solitary, but some, such as bees , ants and termites , are social and live in large, well-organized colonies . Others, such as earwigs , provide maternal care, guarding their eggs and young. Insects can communicate with each other in
918-451: The rat-tailed maggot. Symptoms can range from none ( asymptomatic ) to abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting , or pruritus ani . Infection can be caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water, but doubts have been expressed that accidentally ingested fly larvae could survive in the gastrointestinal tract . Zumpt proposed an alternative called "rectal myiasis". Flies, attracted to feces , may deposit their eggs or larvae near or into
952-535: The reproduction of many flowering plants and so to their ecosystems. Many insects are ecologically beneficial as predators of pest insects, while a few provide direct economic benefit. Two species in particular are economically important and were domesticated many centuries ago: silkworms for silk and honey bees for honey . Insects are consumed as food in 80% of the world's nations, by people in roughly 3000 ethnic groups. Human activities are having serious effects on insect biodiversity . The word insect comes from
986-444: The second-most important group of pollinators after wild bees . Relatively little research into fly pollinators has been conducted, compared to bees. Bees are thought to be able to carry a greater volume of pollen on their bodies, but flies may be able to compensate for this by making a greater number of flower visits. Like many pollinator groups, syrphid flies range from species that take a generalist approach to foraging by visiting
1020-488: The soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores , preying on aphids , thrips , and other plant-sucking insects. Insects such as aphids are considered crop pests , so the aphid-eating larvae of some hoverflies are economically and ecologically important. The larvae are potential agents for use in biological control , while the adults are pollinators . About 6,000 species in 200 genera have been described. Hoverflies are common throughout
1054-641: The subfamily Eristalinae live in semi-aquatic and aquatic environments, including manure and compost, and can filter and purify water. Fredrik Sjöberg's [ sv ] book The Fly Trap concerns his enthusiasm for hoverflies on the island of Runmarö in the Baltic Sea . The island is a hotspot for hoverflies and other insects; Sjöberg has collected 58 species of butterflies there, and (in seven years of hunting) 202 species of hoverflies, including 180 in his garden. Insect Insects (from Latin insectum ) are hexapod invertebrates of
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1088-527: The thorax. Whether winged or not, adult insects can be distinguished by their three-part body plan, with head, thorax, and abdomen; they have three pairs of legs on the thorax. Estimates of the total number of insect species vary considerably, suggesting that there are perhaps some 5.5 million insect species in existence, of which about one million have been described and named. These constitute around half of all eukaryote species, including animals , plants , and fungi . The most diverse insect orders are
1122-525: The total of around 22,500 species is probably within 5% of the actual number there; they comment that Canada's list of 30,000 described species is surely over half of the actual total. They add that the 3000 species of the American Arctic must be broadly accurate. In contrast, a large majority of the insect species of the tropics and the southern hemisphere are probably undescribed. Some 30–40,000 species inhabit freshwater ; very few insects, perhaps
1156-402: The world and can be found on all continents except Antarctica . Hoverflies are harmless to most mammals , though many species are mimics of stinging wasps and bees , a mimicry which may serve to ward off predators. Hoverfly hovering behavior is unlike that of hummingbirds since they do not feed in midair. Hovering in general may be a means of finding a food source. Male hovering is often
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