Nemestrinidae, or tangle-veined flies is a
family of
flies in the
superfamilyNemestrinoidea, closely related to
Acroceridae. The family is small but distributed worldwide, with about 300
species in 34
genera. Larvae are
endoparasitoids of either
grasshoppers (Trichopsideinae) or
scarab beetles (Hirmoneurinae). Some are considered important in the control of grasshopper populations. Adults are often observed on flowers.
Data sources: i = ITIS,[1] c = Catalogue of Life,[2] g = GBIF,[3] b = Bugguide.net[4]
Fossil history
Fossils of Nemestrinidae are known from several localities of various ages in Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Western Europe and North America, with the oldest described fossils being in the Middle-Upper Jurassic
Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan and Daohugou Bed of China.[5][6][7] Undescribed remains are known from the Upper Liassic of Germany.
^Mostovski, M.B. 1998. Revision of the tangle-vein flies (Diptera, Nemestrinidae) described by B.B. Rohdendorf, and new taxa of nemestrinids from the Upper Jurassic of Kazakhstan. Paleontological Journal, 4: 47-53.
[1]
^Ansorge, J., Mostovski, M.B. 2000. Redescription of Prohirmoneura jurassica Handlirsch 1906 (Diptera: Nemestrinidae) from the Lower Tithonian lithographic limestone of Eichstaett. N. Jb. Geol. Palaeont. Mh.4: 235-243.
^Wedmann, S. 2007. A nemestrinid fly (Insecta: Diptera: Nemestrinidae: cf. Hirmoneura) from the Eocene Messel pit (Germany). Journal of Paleontology81 (5): 1114-1117.
[2]