Pyrgotidae
Pyrgotidae Pyrgotella chagnoni Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Diptera Suborder: Brachycera Infraorder: Muscomorpha Section: Schizophora Subsection: Acalyptratae Superfamily: Tephritoidea Family: Pyrgotidae Schiner, 1868 Genera see text Female of species of Pyrgotidae, showing the prominent ovipositor Dorsal aspect of same fly; note the absence of the ocelli The Pyrgotidae are an unusual family of flies (Diptera), one of only two families of Cyclorrhapha that lack ocelli. Most species are "picture-winged" (i.e, have patterns of bands or spots on the wings), as is typical among the Tephritoidea, but unlike other tephritoids, they are endoparasitoids; the females pursue scarab beetles in flight, laying an egg on the beetle's back under the elytra where the beetle cannot reach it. The egg hatches and the fly larva ent...