Rhagionidae or snipe flies are a small family of flies.
They get their name from the similarity of their often prominent proboscis that looks like the beak of a snipe.[3]
Description
Rhagionidae are medium-sized to large flies with slender bodies and stilt-likelegs. The mouthparts are adapted for piercing and many species are haematophagous as adults, while others are predatory on other insects. They are typically brown and yellow flies, and lack bristles. The larvae are also predatory and are mostly terrestrial, although some are aquatic.[4]
Snipe flies in the genus Rhagio are sometimes called "down-looker" flies after their habit of perching head-downward on tree trunks.
Bezzi, M. 1928. Diptera Brachycera and Athericera of the Fiji Islands based on material in the British Museum (Natural History). British Museum (Natural History), London. viii + 220 pp.
Lindner, E 1924–1925. Rhagionidae in Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region 4 (20) 1–49. ISBN3-510-43016-6 Keys to genera and species.
Stuckenberg, B., 1960. Diptera (Brachycera): Rhagionidae. S.Afr. anim. Life 7: 216–308 Keys to genera and species.
Stuckenberg, B., 1965. The Rhagionidae of Madagascar (Diptera). Ann.Natal Mus. 18:89–170. Keys to genera and species.
Leonard, M. D., 1930. A revision of the Dipterous family Rhagionidae (Leptidae) in the United States and Canada, Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 7:1–181.[22]
Malloch, J. R., 1932. Rhagionidae, Therevidae. British Museum (Natural History). Dept. of Entomology [eds] Diptera of Patagonia and South Chile, based mainly on material in the British Museum (Natural History). Part V. Fascicle 3. - Rhagionidae (Leptidae), Therevidae, Scenopinidae, Mydaidae, Asilidae, Lonchopteridae. pp. 199–293.
Nagatomi, A. & Soroida, K., 1985. The structure of the mouthparts of the orthorrhaphous Brachycera (Diptera) with special reference to blood-sucking. Beitr. Ent. 35 (2): 263–368, 480.
References
^ abLatreille, P.A. (1802). Histoire naturelle, generale et particuliere, des crustaces et des insectes. Tome troisieme. Paris: Dufart. pp. xii + 13–467 + 1 pp.
^Burmeister, H.C. (1837). Handbuch der Naturgeschichte. [Part 2]. Berlin: Enslin. pp. xii + pp. 369–858.
^ abKerr, Peter H. (2010). "Phylogeny and classification of Rhagionidae, with implications for Tabanomorpha (Diptera: Brachycera)". Zootaxa. 2592 (1): 1–133.
^ abWilliston, S.W. (1886). "On two interesting genera of Leptidae". Entomologica Americana. 2: 105–108.
^Bezzi, M. (1903). "Orthorrhapha Brachycera. 396 pp. In Becker, T., Bezzi, M., Bischof, J., Kertesz, K. & Stein, P. (eds.)". Katalog der palaarktischen Dipteren. 2: 1–396.
^Macquart, P.J.M. (1826). "Insectes diptères du nord de la France. Asiliques, bombyliers, xylotomes, leptides, stratiomyides, xylophagites et tabaniens". Mem. Soc. Sci. Agric. Arts, Lille. 1825: 324–499, 3 pls.
^Chillcott, J.G. (1963). "A new genus of Rhagionidae (Diptera) with notes and description of Bolbomyia Loew". The Canadian Entomologist. 95: 1185–1190.
^Kovalev, V.G.; Mostovski, M.B. (1997). "A new genus of rhagionid-flies (Diptera, Rhagionidae) from Mesozoic deposits of the Eastern Transbaikalia". Paleont. Zhur. 5: 86–90.
^Frauenfeld, G.R. von (1867). "Zoologische Miscellen XI". Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien. 17: 425–502, pl. 12. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
^Nagatomi, A.; Saigusa, T. (1982). "[New genus] p. 40. In Nagatomi, A. 1982. The genera of Rhagionidae (Diptera)". Journal of Natural History. 16: 31–70.