Hydromyza livens (Diptera: Scathophagidae) in Yorkshire

摘要

Popularly known as 'dung-flies', the Scathophagidae comprises fewer than 60 species in Britain. Clouds of yellow 'teddy bear' flies used to be a familiar sight in the countryside, where swarms of them would rise from cow pats as you walked by. Such sights are now a thing of the past and not all scathophagid species are associated with dung. Several are phytophagous in the larval stages, one of these being Hydromyza livens which is associated with water-lilies Nymphaea. The larvae 'mine' the floatingleaves, leaving characteristic brown channels between the upper and lower surfaces, and adults can be seen sitting on the leaves where they display and mate.