Editing Piophilidae (section)

==Behaviour patterns==
Like the larvae of various fly families, including the family [[Tephritidae]], the larvae of typical piophilids are notorious for jumping or "skipping", especially in their final [[instar]].<ref>{{cite journal |first=David P. |last=Maitland |title=Locomotion by jumping in the Mediterranean fruit-fly larva ''Ceratitis capitata'' |journal=Nature |volume=355 |issue= 6356|pages=159–161 |year=1992 |doi=10.1038/355159a0 |s2cid=4365010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bonduriansky |first=Russell |date=October 2002 |title=Leaping behaviour and responses to moisture and sound in larvae of piophilid carrion flies |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0008347X00005629/type/journal_article |journal=The Canadian Entomologist|volume=134 |issue=5 |pages=647–656 |doi=10.4039/Ent134647-5 |s2cid=86676206 |issn=0008-347X}}</ref> The larvae accomplish their jumps by bending over, grabbing onto the rears of their own bodies with their mouth hooks, and tensing their muscles in a manner that increases the pressure on their own blood and internal organs. When they release their grip, the internal pressure straightens out the tubular body, propelling the forequarters upwards, the rest of the body following.<ref name="ohio" /> Jumping is performed most typically when the larva is alarmed by a disturbance, or when it is abandoning its feeding site in preparation for pupation.

The tiny piophilid species ''[[Protopiophila litigata]]'', commonly known as the antler fly,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonduriansky |first=Russell |title=Antler flies |url=http://bonduriansky.net/antlerflies.htm |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=bonduriansky.net}}</ref> breeds on discarded antlers of moose and other deer. On discarded antlers, the males form complex, highly structured [[Aggregation (ethology)|aggregations]] in which a great deal of [[Territory (animal)|territorial competition]] occurs. In prime areas of the antler, near oviposition sites (cracks in the antler surface), males spend much of their time battling rival males. Males spend their entire lives competing on the same antler (only leaving to spend the night in nearby vegetation), making it possible to mark flies individually and obtain longitudinal field data on these tiny insects. This unique ecology made it possible to document senescence in wild insects for the first time.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bonduriansky|first1=R.|last2=Brassil|first2=C.E.|title=Rapid and costly ageing in wild male flies|journal=Nature|date=2002|volume=420|issue=6914|page=377|doi=10.1038/420377a|pmid=12459773|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The waltzing fly, ''[[Prochyliza xanthostoma]]'', occurs in North America. It is one of the carrion-feeding piophilids and is remarkable for its [[sexual dimorphism]] and its patterns of [[Adaptation|behavioural adaptation]] and associated [[Morphology (biology)|morphological adaptations]]. In particular, the antennae, forelegs, and heads of the males are adapted in unusual ways to their behaviour in combat and courtship.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonduriansky |first=Russell |title=Waltzing flies |url=http://www.bonduriansky.net/waltzingflies.htm |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=bonduriansky.net}}</ref> A male courts a female by dancing side-to-side, forequarters held high, displaying his elongated antennae and vibrating his elongated forelegs.<ref name="Bonduriansky5">{{cite journal |first=R. |last=Bonduriansky |title=Layered sexual selection: a comparative analysis of sexual behaviour within an assemblage of piophilid flies |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=479–491 |year=2003 |doi=10.1139/z03-031 }}</ref>