Xylophagidae Fallén, 1810

Rudolf Rozkošný

Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, CZ-61137 Brno, Czech Republic; rozk@sci.muni.cz

The Xylophagidae are slender, basal Brachycera reaching lengths of 6.6-19.0 mm, with short hairs and without bristles. Antennal flagellum consisting of 7-8 flagellomeres, the last one short and rounded; clypeus flat and palpi clavate; vein C surrounding entire wing and R5 ending near wing tip; all tibiae with spurs. The larvae possess a deeply sclerotised conical head capsule and sclerotised plates on the thorax and the terminal segment. The larvae live as saproxylic predators of other insect larvae under bark and in decaying wood. The adults are therefore not too rare in deciduous forests and along their margins.

Five species are known from Europe (Rozkošný 2005), four of them occur in the Czech Republic and three in Slovakia; no additional species has been recorded since the last published checklist (Rozkošný 1997). General information on the morphology, biology and development was recently summarised by Nagatomi and Rozkošný (1997). Identification keys to the adults of Central European species are included in studies by Trojan (1956) and Krivosheina and Mamaev (1972). The larvae can be identified according to the latter authors (Krivosheina & Mamaev 1966). Chandler (1998) designated a lectotype for Xylophagus ater Meigen, 1804 and found that this species is identical with X. compeditus as treated in the recent European literature. For the species known as X. ater of authors (not Meigen, 1804), the name X. kowarzi (Pleske, 1925) is used (Rozkošný 2005, Rozkošný et al. 2005).

For financial support, the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic and the Masaryk University (grant No. MSM 0021622416 ) are acknowledged.

References

[1] Chandler P.J. 1998: The identity of Xylophagus ater Meigen (Diptera, Xylophagidae). Dipterists Digest 5: 89-92.

[2] Krivosheina N.M. & Mamaev B.M. 1966: Die Larven der europäischen Arten der Gattung Xylophagus Meigen (Diptera: Xylophagidae). Beiträge zur Entomologie 16: 275-283.

[3] Krivosheina N.M. & Mamaev B.M. 1972: A review of the Palaearctic species of the genus Xylophagus Meig. (Diptera, Xylophagidae). Entomologicheskoye Obozrenie 51: 430-444 (in Russian).

[4] Nagatomi A. & Rozkošný R. 1997: Family Xylophagidae. In Papp L. & Darvas B. (eds): Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera (with special reference to flies of economic importance). Vol. 2. Nematocera and Lower Brachycera. Science Herald, Budapest, pp. 413-420.

[5] Rozkošný R. 1997: Xylophagidae. In Chvála M. (ed.): Check List of Diptera (Insecta) of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Karolinum – Charles University Press, Prague, p. 43.

[6] Rozkošný R. 2005: Fauna Europaea: Xylophagidae. In Pape T. (ed.): Fauna Europaea: Diptera: Brachycera. Fauna Europaea version 1.2, http://www.faunaeur.org/

[7] Rozkošný R., Kubík Š. & Barták M. 2005: Xylophagidae. In Barták M. & Kubík Š. (eds): Diptera of Podyjí National Park and its environs. Česká zemědělská univerzita, Praha, pp. 116-117.

[8] Trojan P. 1956: Erinnidae. In Klucze do oznaczania owadów Polski. Vol. 28. PAN, Warszawa, 21 pp.