Phaonia pallida
Phaonia pallida, Female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Muscidae
Subfamily: Phaoniinae
Tribe: Phaoniini
Genus: Phaonia
Species:
P. pallida
Binomial name
Phaonia pallida
(Fabricius, 1787)
Synonyms

Phaonia pallida, the muscid fly or orange muscid fly, is a species of fly in the family Muscidae.[1]

Distribution and habitat

This species is distributed across parts of the Palearctic – Europe (including Sicily and the Azores), Russia, and Asia (Israel, Turkey, and Iran).[2][3] These flies mainly inhabit deciduous forests and woodland, especially spruce forest edge.[4][5]

Description

Male

Phaonia pallida can reach a length of about 5.5–7.9 millimetres (0.22–0.31 in). These flies have an orange body with a very hairy thorax.[4][5] The antennae are composed by three articles and bear a feathery arista. The legs and the balancers are yellow, while the tarsi are black. The eyes are dark red, separated by a yellow marking in the females, while in males they are very close to each other.[6]

Biology

Adults fly from May to September, feeding on nectar of flowers (especially of Heracleum sphondylium).[4][5][6] Its larvae have been found growing in various fungi (Amanita rubescens, Clitocybe nebularis, Paralepista flaccida, Xerula radicata, Hymenopellis radicata, Amanita muscaria) [6] but also in rotten wood and under tree bark.[5][7] The last larval instar of Phaonia pallida is carnivorous, feeding on small insects.[5][8]

Bibliography

  • Chandler, Peter J. (2010). A Dipterist's Handbook (2nd Edition). The Amateur Entomologist. 15. Orpington, Kent, England: Amateur Entomologists' Society. pp. 525pp
  • D'Assis Fonseca, E.C.M (1968). Diptera Cyclorrhapha Calyptrata: Muscidae. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. 10. London.: Royal Entomological Society of London. pp. 118pp.
  • Gregor, F.; Rozkosny, R.; Bartak, M.; Vanhara, J. (2002). The Muscidae (Diptera) of Central Europe. Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis. 107. Masaryk.: Masaryk University. pp. 280pp.

References

  1. ↑ BioLib
  2. ↑ Catalogue of life
  3. ↑ Fauna europaea
  4. 1 2 3 Nature Spot
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 J.K. Lindsey Commanster
  6. 1 2 3 Un monde dans mon jardin
  7. ↑ Chandler, Peter J. (2010). A Dipterist's Handbook. The Amateur Entomologist. Vol. 15 (2nd ed.). Orpington, Kent, England: Amateur Entomologists' Society. pp. 525pp.
  8. ↑ Jan Sevck Diptera (excluding Mycetophilidae S. str.) associated with fungi in Czech and Slovak Republics: a survey of rearing records from 1998-2000


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