Chloropidae: The Grass Flies of Hawai'i III

Brief description

Chloropidae is a family of flies commonly referred to as frit flies or grass flies. The name is derived from the fact that a majority are phytophagous (herbivorous). These larvae develop within reproductive or vegetative parts of plant species, mainly within the families Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and Typhaceae. Sometimes their larval development results in cigar-shaped galls on the stems. Other species are saprophages, living in rotting wood, feeding on decaying organic matter. Some Chloropidae species are a concern as both pests and vehicles for bacterial transmission. During warm seasons, soil saprophages species are known to emerge in large numbers and swarm about the eyes and mouths of both mammalian livestock and humans. Their movement to and from mouths, anuses, eyes and open lesions of livestock and humans can potentially lead to transfer of infectious bacteria. Please help transcribe the UHIM's grass flies collection in order to better help us understand their distribution and impact in Hawai'i.This expedition of 507 tasks is fully transcribed and validated. This data resource is harvested periodically into the main occurrence index.