What are they?
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Worldwide, the Stiletto Flies (Insecta: Diptera: Asiloidea:Therevidae) have been poorly known and among the least understood of the flies (Order Diptera). Diptera are among the poorest known of the larger insect orders. Yet, this fascinating, medium-sized (>1,600 spp.) family of flies is critical to the sound functioning of arid and semiarid environments, including agroecosystems and forests in those zones. Individuals of this family have been infrequently collected because the adults are usually secretive, frequenting habitats rarely sampled by collectors. | |||
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| The predaceous larvae are hidden within dry, friable, often sandy substrates. Consequently, larvae of these flies may well be excellent control agents of active fossorial arthropod pests in sandy agroecosystems. Furthermore, their abundance can be an indirect measure of subterranean productivity, and their diversity may be an excellent indicator of habitat heterogeneity. |
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