Editing Fly (section)

==Ecology==

[[File:Bubbling Fly.jpg|left|thumb|A calliphorid "bubbling"]]

As ubiquitous insects, dipterans play an important role at various [[trophic level]]s both as consumers and as prey. In some groups the larvae complete their development without feeding, and in others the adults do not feed. The larvae can be herbivores, scavengers, decomposers, predators or parasites, with the consumption of decaying organic matter being one of the most prevalent feeding behaviours. The fruit or detritus is consumed along with the associated micro-organisms, a sieve-like filter in the pharynx being used to concentrate the particles, while flesh-eating larvae have mouth-hooks to help shred their food. The larvae of some groups feed on or in the living tissues of plants and fungi, and some of these are serious pests of agricultural crops. Some aquatic larvae consume the films of algae that form underwater on rocks and plants. Many of the parasitoid larvae grow inside and eventually kill other arthropods, while parasitic larvae may attack vertebrate hosts.<ref name=Resh/>

Whereas many dipteran larvae are aquatic or live in enclosed terrestrial locations, the majority of adults live above ground and are capable of flight. Predominantly they feed on nectar or plant or animal exudates, such as honeydew, for which their lapping mouthparts are adapted. Some flies have functional mandibles that may be used for biting. The flies that feed on vertebrate blood have sharp stylets that pierce the skin, with some species having anticoagulant saliva that is regurgitated before absorbing the blood that flows; in this process, certain diseases can be transmitted. The bot flies (Oestridae) have evolved to parasitize mammals. Many species complete their life cycle inside the bodies of their hosts.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The World Oestridae (Diptera), Mammals and Continental Drift  |last=Papavero |first=N. |publisher=Springer |year=1977 |isbn= 978-94-010-1308-6|doi=10.1007/978-94-010-1306-2|s2cid=43307061 }}</ref> The larvae of a few fly groups (Agromyzidae, Anthomyiidae, Cecidomyiidae) are capable of inducing plant galls. Some dipteran larvae are leaf-miners. The larvae of many brachyceran families are predaceous. In many dipteran groups, swarming is a feature of adult life, with clouds of insects gathering in certain locations; these insects are mostly males, and the swarm may serve the purpose of making their location more visible to females.<ref name="Resh" />

Most adult diptera have their mouthparts modified to sponge up fluid. The adults of many species of flies (e.g. ''[[Anthomyia]]'' sp., ''[[Steganopsis melanogaster]]'') that feed on liquid food will [[Regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitate]] fluid in a behaviour termed as "bubbling" which has been thought to help the insects evaporate water and concentrate food<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hendrichs |first1=J. |last2=Cooley |first2=S. S. |last3=Prokopy |first3=R. J.|date=1992 |title=Post-feeding bubbling behaviour in fluid-feeding Diptera: concentration of crop contents by oral evaporation of excess water |journal=Physiological Entomology |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=153–161 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-3032.1992.tb01193.x |s2cid=86705683}}</ref> or possibly to cool by evaporation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gomes |first1=Guilherme |last2=Köberle |first2=Roland |last3=Von Zuben |first3=Claudio J. |last4=Andrade |first4=Denis V. |date=2018 |title=Droplet bubbling evaporatively cools a blowfly |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=8|issue=1 |pages=5464 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-23670-2 |pmc=5908842 |pmid=29674725 |bibcode=2018NatSR...8.5464G}}</ref> Some adult diptera are known for [[kleptoparasitism]] such as members of the Sarcophagidae. The miltogramminae are known as "satellite flies" for their habit of following wasps and stealing their stung prey or laying their eggs into them. Phorids, milichids and the genus ''[[Bengalia]]'' are known to steal food carried by ants.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marshall |first1=S.A. |title=Manual of Afrotropical Diptera. Volume 1. Introductory chapters and keys to Diptera families. Suricata 4. |last2=Kirk-Spriggs |first2=A.H. |publisher=South African National Biodiversity Institute|year=2017|editor1=Kirk-Spriggs, A.H. |place=Pretoria |pages=135–152 |chapter=Natural history of Diptera |editor2=Sinclair, B.J.}}</ref> Adults of ''[[Ephydra hians]]'' forage underwater, and have special hydrophobic hairs that trap a bubble of air that lets them breathe underwater.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=van Breug |first1=Floris |last2=Dickinson|first2=Michael H. |date=2017 |title=Superhydrophobic diving flies ( Ephydra hians ) and the hypersaline waters of Mono Lake |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=114 |issue=51 |pages=13483–13488 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1714874114 |pmc=5754803 |pmid=29158381 |bibcode=2017PNAS..11413483V |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Anti-predator adaptations===

{{Further|Anti-predator adaptation}}

[[File:Grosser Wollschweber Bombylius major.jpg|thumb|The large bee-fly, ''[[Bombylius major]]'', is a [[Batesian mimic]] of bees.]]

Flies are eaten by other animals at all stages of their development. The eggs and larvae are parasitised by other insects and are eaten by many creatures, some of which specialise in feeding on flies but most of which consume them as part of a mixed diet. Birds, bats, frogs, lizards, dragonflies and spiders are among the predators of flies.<ref name=Collins>{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Robert |title=What eats flies for dinner? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OR_KmAEACAAJ |year=2004 |publisher=Shortland Mimosa |isbn=978-0-7327-3471-8}}</ref> Many flies have evolved [[mimicry|mimetic resemblances]] that aid their protection. [[Batesian mimicry]] is widespread with many hoverflies resembling bees and wasps,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=Francis |title=The evolution of imperfect mimicry in hoverflies |url=http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/96/1/ImperfectMimicry.pdf |publisher=CABI |date=2004 |access-date=27 July 2016 |archive-date=17 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117175346/http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/96/1/ImperfectMimicry.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/beheco/arn148 |title=Do hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) sound like the Hymenoptera they morphologically resemble? |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=396–402 |year=2008 |last1=Rashed |first1=A. |last2=Khan |first2=M. I. |last3=Dawson |first3=J. W. |last4=Yack |first4=J. E. |last5=Sherratt |first5=T. N.|doi-access=free }}</ref> ants<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1076/snfe.37.1.19.2114 |title=Male-male agonistic behavior and ant-mimicry in a Neotropical richardiid (Diptera: Richardiidae) |journal=Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment |volume=37 |pages=19–22 |year=2002 |last1=Pie |first1=Marcio R. |last2= Del-Claro |first2=Kleber|s2cid=84201196 }}</ref> and some species of tephritid fruit fly resembling spiders.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/aesa/81.3.532 |title=Spider mimicry in fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae): Further experiments on the deterrence of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) by ''Zonosemata vittigera'' (Coquillett) |journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=532–536 |year=1988 |last1=Whitman |first1=D. W. |last2=Orsak |first2=L. |last3=Greene |first3=E.}}</ref> Some species of hoverfly are [[myrmecophilous]]—their young live and grow within the nests of ants. They are protected from the ants by imitating chemical odours given by ant colony members.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Ant hosts of ''Microdon'' (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the Pacific Northwest | first1=Roger D. |last1= Akre | first2=William B. |last2=Garnett |first3=Richard S. |last3= Zack | journal=Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society | volume=63 | issue=1 |year=1990 | pages=175–178 | jstor=25085158 }}</ref> Bombyliid bee flies such as ''[[Bombylius major]]'' are short-bodied, round, furry, and distinctly bee-like as they visit flowers for nectar, and are likely also Batesian mimics of bees.<ref name="Godfray1994">{{cite book |last=Godfray |first=H. C. J. |title=Parasitoids: Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology |url=https://archive.org/details/parasitoidsbehav0000godf |url-access=registration |year=1994 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-00047-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/parasitoidsbehav0000godf/page/299 299]}}</ref>

In contrast, ''[[Drosophila subobscura]],'' a species of fly in the genus ''[[Drosophila]]'', lacks a category of hemocytes that are present in other studied species of ''[[Drosophila]]'', leading to an inability to defend against parasitic attacks, a form of innate immunodeficiency.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Eslin |first1=Patrice |last2=Doury |first2=Géraldine |date=2006 |title=The fly Drosophila subobscura: A natural case of innate immunity deficiency |journal=Developmental & Comparative Immunology |volume=30 |issue=11 |pages=977–983 |doi=10.1016/j.dci.2006.02.007 |pmid=16620975}}</ref>