Pipunculidae Walker, 1834

Pavel Lauterer

Moravian Museum, Department of Entomology, Hviezdoslavova 29a, CZ-627 00 Brno-Slatina, Czech Republic; ento.laut@volny.cz

Small to medium-sized (2.0-12.0 mm), mostly dark coloured flies, a few species with a yellow pattern; body mostly dusted grey. Head subhemispherical (Chalarinae), hemispherical (Nephrocerinae), or nearly spherical (Pipunculinae), on an extremely narrow conical cervix. Compound eyes covering almost the whole head surface, in males usually contiguous (except Chalarinae), in females mostly with enlarged frontal ommatidia; three ocelli present. Antenna varying in colour, with 3 segments; segments 1-2 small, segment 3 large, laterally flattened, oval-shaped, or reniform, or ventrally prolonged, obtuse or acuminate at apex. Mouthparts muscoid. Thorax robust, with groups of bristles defining the different genera; legs with well-developed pulvilli. Wings long and narrow, hyaline, sometimes infuscated brown; all the species are very skilled fliers. Abdomen slender and elongate. Male postabdomen with segments 6 and 7 asymmetric, twisted towards the left. Female postabdomen with segments 7-9 forming the ovipositor, segment 9 modified into a piercer; 3 spermathecae present. The Nephrocerinae are parasitoids of Tipulidae (Skevington 2005), and the other subfamilies are endoparasitoids of Fulgoromorpha and Cicadomorpha (Hemiptera). The females deposit eggs into the haemocoel of the host. Larval development passes through two instars, with the mature larva emerging from the host through a hole made in the intersegmental membrane and pupating in the soil.

Altogether 1383 valid species are known worldwide, and 208 are known to occur in Europe (De Meyer 2004); 122 species are listed in the present checklist (113 in the Czech Republic, 90 in Bohemia, 95 in Moravia, and 100 in Slovakia). Since the last version of the checklist, the number of species in the Czech Republic has increased by 28 (23 in Bohemia, 17 in Moravia) and in Slovakia by 24. 2 species (1 from the Czech Republic, 1 from Slovakia) have proved to be synonyms, and the presence of 2 species was accidentally omitted from the previous version. The pipunculid fauna of both the Czech Republic and Slovakia is well known compared to other European countries.

The basic characteristics of the family are given by Kozánek et al. (1998) and also in most modern taxonomic revisions (e.g. Kehlmaier 2005). Most genera have been revised recently, and only the taxonomy of the genus Pipunculus remains critical. The nomenclature in the present checklist is that of the Fauna Europaea (De Meyer 2004).

References

[1] Dunk von der K. & Lauterer P. 1998: More details on the rare Eudorylas furvulus Collin and Microcephalops opacus (Fallén) comb.n. (Diptera: Pipunculidae. Acta Musei Moraviae, Scientae biologicae 82: 163-171.

[2] Földvári M. & DeMeyer M. 1999: Revision of Central and West European Tomosvaryella Aczél species (Diptera, Pipunculidae). Acta zoologica Academiae Scientarum Hungaricae 45: 299-334.

[3] Földvári M. & Kozánek M. 2001: New morphological and faunistic records of Hungarian Pipunculidae (Diptera). Folia entomologica.hungarica 62: 293-303.

[4] Kehlmaier C. 2005: Taxonomic revision of European Eudorylini (Insecta, Diptera, Pipunculidae). Verhandlungen des  naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins in Hamburg (N.F.) 41: 45-353.

[5] Kozánek M. & Barták M. 2000: Pipunculidae. In Barták M. & Vaňhara J. (eds): Diptera in an industrially affected region (North- Western Bohemia, Bílina and Duchcov environs), I. Folia Facultatis Scientiarium Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis, Biologia 104: 237-240.

[6] Kozánek M. & Belcari A. 1995: Contribution to the knowledge of the pipunculid fauna of Italy (Diptera Pipunculidae). Bolletino della Società Entomologica Italiana 127: 159-178.

[7] Kozánek M.,  DeMeyer M. & Albrecht A. 1998: 3.6 Family Pipunculidae. In Papp L. & Darvas B. (eds): Contributions to a manual of Palaearctic Diptera (with special reference to flies of economic importance). Vol. 3 Science Herald, Budapest, pp. 141-150.

[8] Kozánek M. & Kehlmaier C. 2004: Pipunculidae of Slovakia: additions and corrections to faunal list, with a description of a new Eudorylas (Diptera). Entomological Problems 34: 21-35.

[9] Lauterer P. 1998: Pipunculidae. In Rozkošný R. & Vaňhara J. (eds): Diptera of the Pálava Biosphere Reserve UNESCO, I. Folia Facultatis Scientiarium Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis, Biologia 99: 215-219.

[10] Lauterer P. 2003: First reports of some Pipunculidae (Diptera) from the Czech Republic and Slovakia with a note from Germany. Acta Musei Moraviae, Scientae biologicae 88: 31-35.

[11] Lauterer P. & Malenovský I. 2006: New records of Pipunculidae (Diptera) from the Czech Republic. Entomofauna carpathica 18: 38.

[12] Lauterer P., Malenovský I. & Janšta P. 2002: Taxocenózy křísů a mer (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha et Psylloidea) a jejich parazitoidů (Diptera: Pipunculidae, Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) dvou biotopů Rokytenských slepenců. Přírodovědný sborník Západomoravského Muzea v Třebíči 40: 61-81.

[13] DeMeyer M. 1994: Phylogenetic relationships within the Cephalopsini (Diptera, Pipunculidae). Bulletin et Annales de la Société Royale Belge d'Entomologie 130: 7-18.

[14] DeMeyer M. 2004: Fauna Europaea: Pipunculidae. In Pape T. (ed.): Fauna Europaea: Diptera, Brachycera. Fauna Europaea version 1: 1, http:://www.faunaeur.org.

[15] Skevington J.H. 2005: Revision of Nearctic Nephrocerus Zetterstedt (Diptera: Pipunculidae). Zootaxa 977: 1-36.

[16] Skevington J.H. & Yeates D.K. 2001: Phylogenetic classification of Eudorylini (Diptera: Pipunculidae). Systematic Entomology 26: 421-452.