Sepsidae Walker, 1833

Miroslav Barták

Czech University of Agriculture, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Department of Zoology and Fishery, CZ-165 21 Praha 6 – Suchdol, Czech Republic; bartak@af.czu.cz

Small to medium-sized flies (body length 2.0-7.0 mm). Head rounded to slightly elongate, antennal arista bare, diverging postvertical setae always present as well as inner vertical and ocellar setae. Vibrissae absent, but strong peristomal setae may be present, palpi nearly always minute. Thorax elongate; arrangement of thoracic bristles and extent of microtomentose parts are useful taxonomic characters. Metathoracic spiracle with 1 to several setae along posterior and lower margin. Fore legs, especially in males, often with peculiar armature consisting of strong bristles, tubercles, and emarginations, hind tibia often with an osmeterium. Wing clear or with a smoky tip, often with a dark spot near tip or with a somewhat milky-white tip. Costa unbroken, subcosta complete, anal vein short and ending well before wing margin. Abdomen usually narrowed at base, giving rise to the ant-like appearance of the flies. Male ventrites often modified; epandrium large, shape of surstyli species-specific. Female ovipositor short, cerci short, 2 spermathecae. For further details on the adult morphology, see Pont and Meier (2002). The eggs are oval, with long respiratory horns. The larva is white or yellowish-white, maggot-like, cylindrical, with a somewhat bulbous posterior end. The larvae are saprophagous, coprophagous or necrophagous. The food of the larval Sepsidae includes a wide range of decaying organic materials, excrements of mammals and birds, dead snails, carrion and rotting fungi. For further details on the larvae, see Meier (1996), and Ozerov and Meier (1995).

Altogether 44 species are known to occur in Europe (Pont & Meier 2002); 31 are listed in the present checklist (28 in the Czech Republic, 26 in Bohemia, 23 in Moravia, and 26 in Slovakia). Since the last version of the checklist, the number of species has increased in the Czech Republic by 2 (both in Bohemia) (Barták 2001, 2006). The species-richness of the sepsid fauna is moderately well known in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The basic characteristics of the family have been given by Pont and Meier (2002). All the Central European species may be identified using the keys and figures in that monograph. The nomenclature of the Fauna Europaea (Meier 2004) is used in the present checklist.

References

[1] Barták M. 2001: The first record of Sepsis luteipes Melander & Spuler in the Czech Republic. Acta Universitatis Carolinae, Biologica 45: 5-8.

[2] Barták M. 2006: Faunistic records from the Czech republic (Diptera, Sepsidae). Entomofauna carpathica 18: 81.

[3] Meier R. 1996: Larval morphology of the Sepsidae (Diptera: Sciomyzoidea), with a cladistic analysis using adult and larval characters. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 228: 1-147.

[4] Meier R. 2004: Fauna Europaea: Sepsidae. In Pape T. (ed.): Fauna Europaea: Diptera, Brachycera. Fauna Europaea version 1.1, http://www.faunaeur.org.

[5] Ozerov A.L. & Meier R. 1995: A key to the larvae of the Palaearctic genera of the Sepsidae (Diptera: Cyclorrhapha). Annales de la  Société Entomologique de France (N.S.) 31: 259-283.

[6] Pont A.C. & Meier R. 2002: The Sepsidae (Diptera) of Europe. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica, Vol. 37, 220 pp.