Asteiidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Antliophora
Ordo: Diptera
Subordo: Brachycera
Infraordo: Muscomorpha
Sectio: Schizophora
Subsectio: Acalyptrata
Superfamilia: Opomyzoidea
Suprafamilia: Asteioinea

Familia: Asteiidae
Subfamilia: Asteiinae - Sigaloessinae

Genera (10): Anarista – Asteia – Astiosoma – Bahamia – Bryania – Leiomyza – Loewimyia – Phlebosotera – Polyarista – Sigaloessa – Tucumyia

[source: Catalogue of Life: 2010 Annual Checklist]
References

Deeming, J.C. 2010: Order Diptera, family Asteiidae. Arthropod fauna of the UAE, 3: 635–646. [not seen]
Grimaldi, D.A. 2009: The Asteioinea of Fiji (Insecta: Diptera: Periscelididae, Asteiidae, Xenasteiidae). American Museum novitates, (3671) DOI: 10.1206/685.1
Macfarlane, R.P. et al. 2010: [Chapter] NINE Phylum ARTHROPODA SUBPHYLUM HEXAPODA Protura, springtails, Diplura, and insects. Pp. 233-467 in Gordon, D.P. (ed.): New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume 2. Kingdom Animalia. Chaetognatha, Ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch, New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-87725793-3
Papp, L., 2013: A new genus of Asteiidae with a key to the Old World genera (Diptera). Annales historico-naturales Musei nationalis hungarici 105: 199–205. full article (pdf). Reference page.

Asteiidae is a small but widespread family of acalyptrate flies or Diptera. About 130 species in 10 genera have been described worldwide. They are rarely collected.

Family description

For terms see Morphology of Diptera.

Adult asteiids are minute to small (1–3 millimeters) thin-bodied and delicate (often weakly sclerotized) flies, with yellow-black or dark colours. The wings are relatively long and transparent. The head is rounded, the male almost always with distinct interfrontal stripes. The arista may be bare or pubescent but usually has a zigzag of longer and shorter alternating rays. The postvertical bristles are weakly developed, divergent or parallel or totally absent. Ocellar bristles may be present or absent. There is one orbital bristle on each side of the frons (Shtakel'berg] (0–2 pairs of frontal bristles). Interfrontal bristles may be present as may scattered interfrontal setulae. Vibrissae may be absent or present. On the mesonotum are one to two pairs of dorsocentral bristles. The costa is entire, without interruptions; the subcosta is reduced; posterior basal wing cell and discoidal wing cell are fused; anal cell of wing and anal vein of wing are absent. Tibiae lack a dorsal preapical bristle.

See [1]
Biology

Adults are often found on flowers and low vegetation but have been collected at windows indoors and on tree wounds. In one genus (Leiomyza) adults are found on mushrooms and bracket fungi. Adults of the species Astiosoma rufifrons Duda are attracted to wood ash after bonfires especially at evening. Larval biologies are unknown, but adults have been reared from fungi (Leiomyza), stalks of Cannabis sativa, flower buds, and dried reed stems. Sabrosky (1987) suggested that the larvae may be scavengers in the frass of other insects.
Species lists

Palaearctic
Nearctic
Japan One species

Identification (literature)

Sabrosky, C.W., 1943. New genera and species of Asteiidae (Diptera), with a review of the family in the Americas. Annals of the Entomological Society of America: 36(3):501-514. Available online at the Core Historical Literature of Agriculture, Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell University.

Sabrosky, C.W., 1956. Additions to the knowledge of Old World Asteiidae.Revue francaise d'entomologie (Nouvelle Serie) 23:216-243.
Authorship

The family Asteiidae was erected by Hermann Loew
Phylogeny

Opomyzoidea

Clusioinea (Clusiidae[1])        Agromyzoinea (Odiniidae+Fergusoninidae+Agromyzidae)        Opomyzoinea (Opomyzidae+Anthomyzidae)     Asteioinea      Neurochaetidae+Aulacigastridae+Periscelididae        Teratomyzidae        Xenasteiidae      Asteiidae

 
 
Images

See Images at Diptera.info

Encyclopedia of Life World taxa list and images

References

Nello schema di McAlpine, i Clusiidae sono in relazione con il genere Acartophthalmus, che secondo l'analisi cladistica di Buck (2006) va collocato nel clade dei Carnoidea. Vedi Acartophthalmidae.

Duda. 1934. Astiidae. In: Lindner, E. (Ed.). Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region 6, 1, 58b, 1-15. Keys to Palaearctic species but now needs revision (in German).
Papp, L. 1998. Family Asteiidae. In: Papp, L. and Darvas, B.: Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera. 3: 295-303. Science Herald, Budapest.
Papp L., 1984. Family Asteiidae. In: Soós Á. & Papp L. (eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera, 10. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest - Elsevier, Amsterdam: 63-66.
Stackelberg, A.A. Family Asteiidae in Bei-Bienko, G. Ya, 1988 Keys to the insects of the European Part of the USSR Volume 5 (Diptera) Part 2 English edition.Keys to Palaearctic species but now needs revision .