Vol. 110 - Part III - Zoological Survey of India

2 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaTable-1 : Habit and Habitats of Saproxylic flies of Himachal PradeshFamily name Common Adult Habit and HabitatsAdultImmature stagesCearatopogonidae Biting Midges Usually seen on flower Under bark, damp woodMycetophilidae Fungus Gnats Nocturnal, found in damp, dark places Decaying wood, woodyin the dayfungiSciaridae Root Gnats Terrestrial in woody vegetation, agricul- Rotten wood, under barktural fieldof fallen trees, decayingplant mattersTherevidae Stiletto flies Vegetation, grass meadows Leaf mould, fungi, decayingwoodAsilidae Robber flies Vegetation, grass meadows Plant rootsEmpididae Dance flies On leaves, tree trunks, aquatic vegeta- Decaying wood, humus,tion, or in stream beds and seepage mosshabitats, agricultural fields, grasslands,marshes, coastal zones and beachesSyrphidae Hover flies Flower visitors and pollinators Litter, dead wood, fungi,tubers, stems, leavesand fungi), Scatopsidae (decaying plant matter).Therevidae (rotting bark and fungi), Asilidae (rottingwood). Empididae (decaying wood), and Syrphidae(rotting wood) are common in the forest of HimachalPradesh.The family Ceratopogonidae, commonly known asbiting midges, no-see-ums or punkies are tiny, oftenwith spotted wings of 1-6 mm. In the field, most adultscan be recognized by the wings overlapping each otherover the abdomen (when not flying) and the presenceof front legs that are shorter than the hind legs. Thelarvae are rather easy to recognize. They are the onlyfly larvae in which there is a head capsule. Larvaeoccupy a variety of moist habitats, including soil, moss,under bark and in the rock pools; they may bealgaevorous, saprophagous, mycophagous orpredaceous. In India, 220 species of biting midges arereported of which only a species Atrichopogonmontivagus (Kieffer) is reported from Himachal Pradesh.The second wood inhabiting family of HimachalPradesh is the Mycetophilidae or “fungus gnats” andare very delicate flies of small or medium size (2.2-13.3mm), bearing a resemblance to gnats or midges andexceedingly numerous individuals and species. Fungusgnats usually are strikingly black, brown and yellowish,sometimes brightly coloured with pictured wings. Thebody is elongate, and compressed with the thorax moreor less arched and sometime marked by so. Adults aremostly nocturnal and they are commonly met withindamp, dark places, especially among forest undergrowthduring the day. Most mycetophilids inhabit wet forestsbut are quite common in swamps. Of the 77 species sofar reported from India only 21 species are reportedfrom Himachal Pradesh.The sciarids (“rootgnats” or Dark-winged fungusgnats) resemble the mycetophilids in most habits butmore compact, separated from other related families bythe usual dorsal extension of the eye which meetmedially forming an ‘eye bridge’. Adults are about 1-22mm long, slender to moderately robust, long legged,usually black, brown or yellowish in colour. Larvae havea shining black head, white translucent body and somespecies migrate in a snake like formation. Immaturestages mostly found in rotten wood, under bark offallen trees, in other kinds of decaying plant material,feeding in fungi or animal excrement. Out of 61 speciesreported from India only 9 species are reported fromHimachal Pradesh.