Sciaridae

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: Nematocera
Infraordo: Bibionomorpha
Superfamilia: Sciaroidea

Familia: Sciaridae
Genera (81): Acuatella – Aerumnosa – Afrosciara – Allopnyxia – Amesicrium – Angustosciara – Apelmocreagris – Archicratyna – Austrosciara – Baeosciara – Brachisia – Bradysia – Bradysiopsis – Camptochaeta – Cesathrix – Chaetosciara – Claustropyga – Corynoptera – Cottia – Cratyna – Ctenosciara – Dichopygina – Dodecasciara – Dolichosciara – Epidapus – Eugnoriste – Euricrium – Eurobradysia – Eurysciara – Faratsiho – Gephyromma – Hermapterosciara – Hybosciara – Hyperlasion – Keilbachia – Leptosciarella – Leucosciara – Lobosciara – Lycoriella – Manusciaria – Manzumbadoa – Merianina – Metangela – Moehnia – Mohrigia – Muhabbetiola – Nahua – Neophnyxia – Odontosciara – Ostroverkhovana – Parapnyxia – Pelliciplanta – Peniosciara – Phytosciara – Pnyxia – Pnyxiopalpus – Pnyxiopsis – Pseudoaerumnosa – Pseudolycoriella – Pseudosciara – Pseudozygomma – Pseudozygoneura – Psilomegalosphys – Qisciara – Rhynchomegalosphys – Rhynchosciara – Scatopsciara – Schwenckfeldina – Sciara – Sciarotricha – Scythropochroa – Taiwan – Tergosciara – Trichodapus – Trichomegalosphys – Trichosciara – Trichosia – Trichosillana – Vulgarisciara – Xenosciara – Xylosciara – Zygoneura

Allopnyxia - Brad

[source: Catalogue of Life: 2013 Annual Checklist, minus (1) Tipula
]

Check (2): Peyerimhoffia – Prosciara
Name

Sciaridae Billberg, 1820

References

Amorim, D. de S. & Schühli, G.S.E. 2017. A new species of Euricrium Enderlein from southern Brazil, new records for E. varians (Lane), a new combination, and a key for the Neotropical species of the genus. Zootaxa 4231(3): 327–340. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4231.3.2. Reference page.
Billberg, G.J. 1820: Enumeratio insectorum in Museo Gust. Joh. Billberg (4). G. J. Billberg, Gadel. Internet Archive
Broadley, A., Kauschke, E. & Mohrig, W. 2018. Black fungus gnats (Diptera: Sciaridae) found in association with cultivated plants and mushrooms in Australia, with notes on cosmopolitan pest species and biosecurity interceptions. Zootaxa 4415(2): 201–242. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4415.2.1 Open access Full article (PDF) Reference page.
Hippa, H. & P. Vilkamaa, 2005: The genus Sciarotricha gen. n. (Sciaridae) and the phylogeny of recent and fossil Sciaroidea (Diptera). Insect Systematics & Evolution 36 (2): 121–143. Abstract: DOI: 10.1163/187631205788838492.
Koçak, A.Ö.; Hüseyinoglŭ, Y. 2008: Nomenclatural notes on the genus group names in the Diptera (Tabanidae, Sciaridae). Centre for Entomological Studies Ankara miscellaneous papers, (143): 1–2. [15 October 2008] Internet Archive
Koçak, A.Ö.; Kemal, M. 2009: Two replacement names in the family Sciaridae (Diptera). Centre for Entomological Studies Ankara miscellaneous papers, (147-148): 6–7. Internet Archive
Menzel, F., Gammelmo, Ø., Olsen, K.M. & Köhler. A. 2020. The Black Fungus Gnats (Diptera, Sciaridae) of Norway – Part I: species records published until December 2019, with an updated checklist. ZooKeys, 957: 17–104. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.957.46528 Open access Reference page.
Menzel, F. & Mohrig, W. 2000. Revision der paläarktischen Trauermücken (Diptera: Sciaridae). Studia dipterologica supplement 6(1999): 1–761. Reference page.
Mohrig, W.; Jaschhof, M. 1999: Sciarid flies (Diptera, Sciaridae) of New Zealand. Studia dipterologica supplement, (7)
Mohrig, W. & Kauschke, E. 2016. New Black Fungus Gnats (Diptera, Sciaridae) of North America. Part II. Genus Bradysiopsis Tuomikoski, 1960. Zootaxa 4154(3): 293–302. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4154.3.4 Reference page.
Mohrig, W. & Kauschke, E. 2017. New Black Fungus Gnats (Diptera, Sciaridae) of North America. Part IV. Genera Eugnoriste Coquillett and Keilbachia Mohrig. Zootaxa 4319(1): 53–76. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4319.1.3. Reference page.
Mohrig, W., Kauschke, E. & Broadley, A. 2018. New black fungus gnats (Diptera: Sciaridae) from Eastern Australia. Zootaxa 4450(2): 203–241. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4450.2.3 Open access PDF Reference page.
Mohrig, W., Kauschke, E. & Heller, K. 2017. Austrosciara Schmitz & Mjöberg, 1924, a senior synonym of Ctenosciara Tuomikoski, 1960 (Diptera: Sciaridae) and the description of a new brachypterous species in the genus. Zootaxa 4344(2): 357–366. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4344.2.10 Reference page.
Tuomikoski, R. 1960. Zur Kenntnis der Sciariden (Dipt.) Finnlands. Annales Zoologici Societatis Zoologicae Botanicae Fennicae "Vanamo" 21, 1–164. Reference page.
Vilkamaa, P., Rudzinski, H-G., Burdíková, N. & Ševčík, J. 2018. Phylogenetic position of Aerumnosa Mohrig (Diptera, Sciaridae) as revealed by multigene analysis, with the description of four new Oriental species. Zootaxa 4399(2): 248–260. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4399.2.8 Reference page.
Xu, J., Shi, K., Huang, J-H. & Wu, H. 2017. Review of the genus Mohrigia Menzel (Diptera, Sciaridae) from China. Zootaxa 4300(1): 71–98. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4300.1.4. Reference page.

Additional references

Broadley, A., Kauschke, E. & Mohrig, W. 2016. Revision of the types of male Sciaridae (Diptera) described from Australia by F.A.A. Skuse. Zootaxa 4193(3): 401–450. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4193.3.1 Full article (PDF). Reference page.
Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P. 2016. FAMILY SCIARIDAE. In Wolff, M.I., Nihei, S.S. & Carvalho, C.J.B. de (eds.), Catalogue of Diptera of Colombia. Zootaxa 4121(1): 41–45. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4121.1.7. Reference page.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Trauermücken
English: Dark-winged Fungus Gnats
suomi: Harsosääsket
日本語: クロバネキノコバエ科
한국어: 톱밥파리
中文: 银蚊科

The Sciaridae are a family of flies, commonly known as dark-winged fungus gnats. Commonly found in moist environments, they are known to be a pest of mushroom farms and are commonly found in household plant pots. This is one of the least studied of the large Diptera families, probably due to the small size of these insects and the difficulty in specific identification.

Currently, around 1700 species are described, but an estimated 20,000 species are awaiting discovery, mainly in the tropics. More than 600 species are known from Europe.[2]

Description

These gnats are small, typically from one to seven millimetres long. They have slender, darkly coloured bodies and dark wings. However, the females of several species are wingless. Their long legs and antennae with eight to 16 segments are typical of many gnats.
Family description (formal)

The slender whitish larvae feature a sclerotized head capsule.
Distribution

The Sciaridae occur worldwide, even in extreme habitats such as subantarctic islands and mountainous regions above 4,000 m. Others (such as Parapnyxia) are found in deserts, where they dig into the sand at extreme temperatures. Several species live exclusively in caves. However, most species live in forests, swamps, and moist meadows, where they live in the foliage. They are also often found in flowerpots. In moist and shadowy areas, up to 70% of all dipteran species can be Sciaridae.

They are distributed through wind and drifting, for example on dead wood, and are often introduced by humans, by means of transported humus or similar.
Life cycle
Sciarid larva

The life cycle of only a few species has been studied in any detail, mainly those which are pests of commercially grown mushrooms. Sciarid larvae are mainly found in soil and plant litter, where they seem to feed mainly on fungi and animal faeces. Also, some species mine in plant parts above and below the earth. The larvae play an important role in turning forest leaf litter into soil.

Adult females lay about 200 transparent eggs (each about 1 mm; 1⁄32" long) into moist soil. After about one week, the larvae hatch. About 90% of the larvae are female. Up to 2,500 per m² (230 per sq. ft.) can be found. Several species, especially Sciara militaris, can be found to migrate in processions of up to 10 metres, containing thousands of individuals. These processions occur from May to June in central Europe. Occurrences have been reported e.g. in Southern Poland, the Polish name of the phenomenon is "pleń". The larvae there pupate from July to August.

The adults with their characteristic dancing flight do not bite. They only ingest liquids and live only long enough to mate and produce eggs. They die after about five days.
Mating and genetics

Sciaridae practice paternal genome elimination, whereby the male passes on only the genetic material of his mother to his offspring. The functional result of this is similar to haplodiploidy, but via a very different mechanism.
Evolution

Sciarids are fairly common in amber deposits, with the earliest known fossils dating from the Cretaceous period.
Sciarid fly in amber
Dark-winged fungus gnat, Sciaridae
Dark-winged fungus gnat, Sciaridae, male
Pest status

Sciarid flies are common pests of mushroom houses and of plants grown in protected culture, for example herbs, where the warm and moist conditions favour their rapid development. In commercial mushroom houses, sciarid fly larvae tunnel into the stalks of the mushrooms, and feeding damage can sever developing mycelium, causing mushrooms to become brown and leathery. Their faeces may also prevent the mycelium from colonising the casing layer, severely reducing yields. As a pest of plants, sciarid larvae feed on the root system. In both industries, adult sciarid flies are a nuisance pest that can result in crop rejection if high numbers are present in the growing area.

The damaging larval stage can be controlled using the beneficial nematode Steinernema feltiae, which enters the larva and releases a bacterium that kills the insect. The nematode then reproduces within the larva and its young are released into the growing medium, where they actively search out new host larvae.
See also

Lasthenia conjugens
List of Sciaridae genera

References

Billberg, G.J. (1820). Enumeratio insectorum in Museo Gust. Stockholm: Joh. Billberg. pp. 138 pp.

Mohrig, Werner (2003). "Black fungus gnats of Central America. Part I. (Diptera, Sciaridae)" (PDF). Beiträge zur Entomologie. 53 (1): 1–69. Retrieved 13 May 2022.

Expert website (Frank Menzel)
Taxonomy and phylogeny of Sciaridae
Family description
Fossil Diptera catalog