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home / Insecta · vabzdžiai / Diptera · dvisparniai / Scathophagidae · mėšlamusės
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- dung flies
- Dungfliegen
- mėšlamusės
- mēslumušas, mēslu mušas, mēslumušu dzimta
- kłośnicowate, cuchnowate
The Scathophagidae are a small family of Muscoidea which are often known as dung flies, although this name is not appropriate except for a few species of the genus Scathophaga which do indeed pass their larval stages in animal dung. The name probably derives from the yellow dung fly (Scathophaga stercoraria), which is one of the most abundant and ubiquitous flies in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
The larval biology of this family is actually quite diverse, including plant feeders (leaf miners, stem borers, or feeding in seed capsules), aquatic predators, and predators on other insect larvae in wet situations - such as piles of rotting vegetable matter, seaweed, or dung. The adults are predators on other small insects, and while they are commonly seen on flowers, they are hunting prey there, rather than acting as pollinators. They are, in fact, one of the better predators of blow-flies; thus, they are beneficial agents of biological control.