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Pachygastrinae

Keith Bayless
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Containing group: Stratiomyidae

Introduction

Pachygastrinae is a distinctive subfamily of soldier flies. It has the highest generic diversity of any subfamily of Stratiomyidae. Though most are small and black in coloration, the subfamily is also characterized by incredible morphological variation. Some pachygastines are shaped like parasitic wasps, and there are a few large, strikingly colored pachygastrines. Many larvae of Pachygastrinae are predators under bark. Sternobrithes larvae were found at the humus at the base of young Raphia gigantea trees in Africa (Woodley 2001).

Characteristics

Pachygastrinae is distinguished by the loss of vein M3 (Woodley, 2001).  The scutellum of many pachygastrines is upturned to nearly vertical.

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

The sole morphological synapomorphy of the group is fairly homoplastic in Stratiomyidae. Woodley (2001) posits that the group may not be monophyletic. The group is supported as monophyletic in Brammer & von Dohlen's (2007) molecular phylogeny of Stratiomyidae, but taxon sampling is not complete.

References

Brammer, C. A. and von Dohlen, C. D. 2007. Evolutionary history of Stratiomyidae (Insecta: Diptera): the molecular phylogeny of a diverse family of flies. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 43(2):660-73.

Pujol-Luz, J. R. and J. Galinkin. 2004. Um novo genero de Pachygastrinae (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) do Brasil. Neotrop. Entomol. 33:35-38.

Woodley, N. E. 2001. A World Catalog of the Stratiomyidae (Insecta: Diptera). Myia 11: 1-473. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.

Woodley, N. E. 2008. Kerteszmyia, a new genus of Pachygastrinae from the Neotropical Region (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Zootaxa 1746: 39-45.

Information on the Internet

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Neopachygaster maculicornis
Location Raleigh, Wake Co., North Carolina, USA
Acknowledgements From NCSU Insect Collection; Collected by C. S. Brimley
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Life Cycle Stage Adult
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 2.5.
Copyright © Keith Bayless
Scientific Name Dolichodema fenestratum
Location Liberia; Robertsport Bendu
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Identified By James
Sex Female
Life Cycle Stage Adult
View lateral
Collection American Museum of Natural History
Type Holotype
Collector F. M . Snyder
Source Dolichodema fenestratum
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 2.5.
Copyright © Martin Hauser
About This Page

Keith Bayless
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Keith Bayless at

All Rights Reserved.

Citing this page:

Bayless, Keith. 2008. Pachygastrinae. Version 28 September 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Pachygastrinae/23958/2008.09.28 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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