Family ACROCERIDAE Leach, 1815

Museums

Regional Maps

Introduction

The Acroceridae (Small-Headed Flies) are a small family of Diptera, the larvae of which are internal parasites of spiders. This catalogue recognises two subfamilies from Australia: the Acrocerinae comprising the single genus Ogcodes Latrielle, and the less speciose but more generically rich primitive Panopinae.

Adult acrocerids range from 2 mm to 30 mm in length, vary from dull to brilliantly coloured and may live up to six weeks (Schlinger 1980; Schlinger 1987). Females can lay a large number of eggs (up to 5000). The resulting planidium larvae actively seek their hosts, burrowing into the integument and attaching themselves to the book lung (Schlinger 1981). Generation time may vary from one to ten years depending on the host (Schlinger 1987).

Schlinger (1987) summarised the biology and host relationships of the world Acroceridae.

General References

Paramonov, S.J. 1957. A review of Australian Acroceridae (Diptera). Australian Journal of Zoology 5: 521-546

Schlinger, E.I. 1980. Family Acroceridae. pp. 377-380 in Crosskey, R.W. (ed.). Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afrotropical Region. London : British Museum 1437 pp.

Schlinger, E.I. 1981. Acroceridae. pp. 575-584 in McAlpine, J.F., Peterson, B.V., Shewell, G.E., Teskey, H.J., Vockeroth, J.R. & Wood, D.M. (coordinators) (eds). Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Ottawa : Research Branch, Agriculture Canada. Monograph 27 Vol. 1 674 pp.

Schlinger, E.I. 1987. The Biology of Acroceridae (Diptera): True Endoparasitoids of Spiders. pp. 319-327 in Nentwig, W. (ed.). Ecophysiology of Spiders. berlin, Heidelberg and New York : Springer-Verlag 427 pp.

History of changes