Gauromydas heros

Gauromydas heros is a species of giant flies belonging to the family Mydidae.

Gauromydas heros
Gauromydas heros
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Diptera
Superfamily:
Asiloidea
Family:
Mydidae
Subfamily:
Mydinae
Genus:
Gauromydas
Species:
G. heros
Binomial name
Gauromydas heros
(Perty, 1833)
Synonyms
  • Mydas heros Perty, 1833
  • Mydas praegrandis Austen, 1909
  • Gauromydas praegrandis (Austen, 1909) [1]

Distribution

This species has a Neotropical distribution (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay).[1][2]

Mounted specimen

Description

Gauromydas heros can reach a length of 32–70 millimetres (1.3–2.8 in) and a wingspan of about 10 centimetres (3.9 in). It is the largest fly known. The wing membrane is whitish, brown or orange, with a hyaline apex and a posterior margin.[2]

Biology

Adult males are flower visitors, while females do not feed at all. Larvae live in the nest of ants (Atta species), feeding on immature insects. Mature larva dig in the soil a pupation chamber. Then the imago emerge.[2]

See also

References
  1. Asiloid Flies
  2. Calhau Julia, Lamas Carlos José Einicker, Nihei Silvio Shigueo Review of the Gauromydas giant flies (Insecta, Diptera, Mydidae), with descriptions of two new species from Central and South America Magnolia Press, New Zealand ISSN 1175-5326 doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4048.3.3
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