@article {23612, title = {Phyllomyza Fall{\'e}n (Diptera: Milichiidae) from Yunnan with description of four new species}, year = {2016}, abstract = {

The following four species in the genus Phyllomyza Fall\én from Yunnan Province are described as new to science: Phyllomyza aureolusa sp. nov., Phyllomyza basilatusa sp. nov., Phyllomyza fuscusa sp. nov. and Phyllomyza leioipalpa sp. nov. A key to the known species of Phyllomyza from China is presented.

}, keywords = {Cyclorrhapha; Carnoidea;taxonomy; key}, doi = {10.11680/entomotax.2016009}, url = {http://www.nsii.org.cn/sites/default/files/groupfiles/yun_nan_zhen_xie_ying_shu_si_xin_chong_shuang_chi_mu_xie_ying_ke_ying_wen_xi_yu_qiang_.pdf}, author = {Xi, Yuqiang and Yin, Xin-Ming and Yang, Ding} } @article {23585, title = {Entomofaunal Succession Patterns on Burnt and Unburnt Rabbit Carrion}, journal = {Journal of Medical Entomology}, volume = {53}, year = {2016}, month = {2015/12/15}, pages = {296{\textendash}303}, abstract = {

The influence of burning on the decomposition of rabbit carcasses and on insect succession was investigated in three different habitats (agricultural, desert, and urban) in order to provide data for estimating the postmortem interval (PMI). Each site had six carcasses divided into two groups of three rabbits, with the carcasses in one group being partially burned, while the others were not burned. Carrion reached the dry stage within 5\ d in the desert and urban habitats and 13\ d in the agricultural habitat. The unburnt and burnt carcasses also decomposed at a similar rate in the three study habitats. Adult dipteran and coleopteran insects were collected daily. A total of 24 species and 2,381 specimens were collected; of these, 732 specimens from 21 species were taken from the partially burnt carcasses and 1,649 specimens from 21 species from the unburnt carcasses. There were significantly distinct insect communities between the agricultural habitat and the desert and urban habitats. There were also significant differences in the insect communities between the decay stage and other stages, with fresh and dry stages recording the lowest number of insects. There were some species which only presented themselves during the decay stage of decomposition, namely, Platypalpus sp., Desmometopa varipalpis Malloch, Atherigona orientalis (Schiner), Atherigona yorki Deeming, Musca sorbens Weidemann, and Onthophagus nitidulus Klug. In addition, there were significant distinctions in the insect communities between unburnt carcasses and burnt carcasses. The presence of these distinctions means that it is possible to estimate the PMI from partially burnt rabbit carcasses.

}, keywords = {burnt, decomposition, forensic entomology, insect succession}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjv202}, author = {Mashali, AMA} } @article {23585, title = {Differential Diptera succession patterns on decomposed rabbit carcasses in three different habitats}, journal = {Journal of Medical Entomology}, volume = {53}, year = {2016}, pages = {1192{\textendash}1197}, abstract = {

This study describes for the first time the necrophagous Diptera attracted to rabbit carcasses in three distinct habitats in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A mean number of 1,427 flies belonging to 8 families and 16 species were collected during the decomposition process of the rabbits at the three different sites. Carcasses in the agricultural habitat attracted 1,146 flies from 7 families and 14 species, compared to carcasses in the urban site, which attracted 249 flies from 5 families and 9 species. Carcasses in the desert site attracted the lowest number (28 flies from 4 families and 5 species). In the agricultural and desert sites, flies were represented at all decomposition stages. Also, in the urban site, flies were represented at all stages except the fresh and dry stages. Lucilia sericata Meigen was the most abundant species occurring in both the agricultural and desert sites, while Musca domestica L. was the most abundant species occurring in the urban site. The evidence presented here, therefore, suggests that L. sericata and M. domestica are potentially useful species for estimating minimal postmortem intervals in this region of KSA.

}, keywords = {decomposition, Diptera, forensic entomology, necrophagous, Riyadh}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjw079}, author = {Mashali, AMA and Al-Mekhlafi, FA} } @article {23514, title = {A preliminary account of the fly fauna in Jabal Shada al-A{\textquoteright}la Nature Reserve, Saudi Arabia, with new records and biogeographical remarks (Diptera, Insecta)}, journal = {ZooKeys}, volume = {636}, year = {2016}, month = {2016/11/24}, pages = {107-139}, abstract = {

The first list of insects of Al-Baha Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia\  (KSA) was published in 2013 and contained a total of 582 species; an\  addendum to this list was published in 2015 adding 142 species and bringing the total number recorded from the province to 724 insect species representing 17 orders. The previous two studies excluded Jabal Shada al-A\&$\#$39;la Nature Reserve (SANR), so the present study in SANR, as belonging to Al-Baha Province, are complementary to the previous two. The present study presents a preliminary list of Diptera (Insecta) in SANR, with remarks on their zoogeography, and is the first of a series of planned ecological and systematic studies on different insect orders as one of the outputs of a project proposed to study the entire insect fauna of SANR. A total number of 119 Diptera species belonging to 87 genera, 31 tribes, 42 subfamilies, and representing 30 families has been recorded from SANR in the present study. Some species have been identified only to the genus level and listed herein only because this is the first time to record their genera in KSA. Fourteen of the species are recorded for the first time for KSA, namely: Forcipomyia sahariensis Kieffer, 1923 (Ceratopogonidae); Chaetosciara sp. (Sciaridae); Neolophonotus sp. 1; Neolophonotus sp. 2; Promachus sinaiticus Efflatoun, 1934; Saropogon longicornis (Macquart, 1838); Saropogon sp. (Asilidae); Spogostylum tripunctatum (Pallas in Wiedemann, 1818) (Bombyliidae); Phycus sp. (Therevidae); Hemeromyia sp.; Meoneura palaestinensis Hennig, 1937 (Carnidae); Desmometopa inaurata Lamb, 1914 (Milichiidae); Stomoxys niger Macquart, 1851 (Muscidae); and Sarcophaga palestinensis (Lehrer, 1998) (Sarcophagidae). Zoogeographic affinities of recorded fly species suggest a closer affiliation to the Afrotropical region (46\%) than to the Palearctic region (23.5\%) or the Oriental region (2.5\%). This supports the previous studies\&$\#$39; conclusions and emphasizes the fact that parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including Al-Baha Province, ought to be a part of the Afrotropical Region rather than of the Palaearctic Region or the Eremic Zone.

}, doi = {doi: 10.3897/zookeys.636.9905}, author = {El-Hawagry, M. S. and Abdel-Dayem, M. S. and Elgharbawy, A. A. and Al Dha, H. M.} } @article {23240, title = {A new genus of Phyllomyzinae (Diptera: Milichiidae) from Laos and Vietnam}, journal = {Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae}, volume = {62}, year = {2016}, month = {2016/10/06}, pages = {347-354}, abstract = {

A new genus of the phyllomyzine Milichiidae, Indochinomyia gen. n. (type species: I. viet sp. n.) is described. Also an additional species from Laos (I. lao sp. n.) is described. The peculiarities of the new genus are discussed.

}, keywords = {Indochinomyia, Laos, Milichiidae, new species, Phyllomyzinae, taxonomy, Vietnam}, doi = {10.17109/AZH.62.4.347.2016}, author = {Papp, L.} } @article {23239, title = {Catalogue of Diptera of Colombia: Family Milichiidae}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4122}, year = {2016}, month = {2016/06/14}, pages = {708-715}, abstract = {

This catalog summarizes information on the species of Milichiidae known to occur in Colombia. It includes 6 described species in 3 described genera and 6 undescribed species in two genera, one of which is also undescribed.

}, keywords = {catalogue, Colombia, Diptera, distribution, Milichiidae}, author = {Swann, J. E.} } @article {23226, title = {Ceropegia sandersonii mimics attacked honeybees to attract kleptoparasitic flies for pollination}, journal = {Current Biology}, volume = {26}, year = {2016}, month = {2016/10/24}, pages = {1-7}, abstract = {

Four to six percent of plants, distributed over different angiosperm families, entice pollinators by deception [1]. In these systems, chemical mimicry is often used as an efficient way to exploit the olfactory preferences of animals for the purpose of attracting them as pollinators [2,3]. Here, we report a very specific type of chemical mimicry of a food source. Ceropegia sandersonii (Apocynaceae), a deceptive South African plant with pitfall flowers, mimics attacked honeybees. We identified kleptoparasitic Desmometopa flies (Milichiidae) as the main pollinators of C. sandersonii. These flies are well known to feed on honeybees that are eaten by spiders, which we thus predicted as the model chemically mimicked by the plant. Indeed, we found that the floral scent of C. sandersonii is comparable to volatiles released from honeybees when under simulated attack. Moreover, many of these shared compounds elicited physiological responses in antennae of pollinating Desmometopa flies. A mixture of four compounds\—geraniol, 2-heptanone, 2-nonanol, and (E)-2-octen-1-yl acetate\—was highly attractive to the flies. We conclude that C. sandersonii is specialized on kleptoparasitic fly pollinators by deploying volatiles linked to the flies\’ food source, i.e., attacked and/or freshly killed honeybees. The blend of compounds emitted by C. sandersonii is unusual among flowering plants and lures kleptoparasitic flies into the trap flowers. This study describes a new example of how a plant can achieve pollination through chemical mimicry of the food sources of adult carnivorous animals.

}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.085}, author = {A Heiduk and Irina Brake and Tschirnhaus, M. von and G{\"o}hl, M. and J{\"u}rgens, A. and Johnson, S. D. and Meve, U. and D{\"o}tterl, S.} }