Anthrax (fly)

Anthrax
Anthrax anthrax
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Suborder:	Brachycera
Family:	Bombyliidae
Subfamily:	Anthracinae
Tribe:	Anthracini
Genus:	Anthrax Scopoli, 1763
Type species
Anthrax anthrax Scopoli, 1763
Synonyms
Chalcamoeba Sack, 1909 Chrysamoeba Sack, 1909

Anthrax is a genus of bombyliid flies, commonly known as "bee-flies" due to their resemblance to bees. Most are dull black flies, and are usually small to medium in size, 4–20 millimetres (0.2–0.8 in), and many species have striking wing patterns.^[1]

Anthrax is a very large genus. While worldwide in distribution, most species are from the Palaearctic and Afrotropic regions. The genus includes species parasitic on tiger beetles – an unusual trait among the bee-flies. A. anthrax larvae parasitize bees. Many North American species parasitize solitary wasps.^[2]

The type species is Musca morio Linnaeus, 1758, later found to be a misidentification of Musca anthrax Schrank, 1781.^[3]

Species

Anthrax flies often hover around people and land on them.^[2] This one, a member of A. oedipus or a similar species, landed repeatedly on the photographer's jeans.

Early conception of the genus Anthrax sensu Meigen.Plate from Johann Wilhelm Meigen Europäischen Zweiflügeligen.The genus is now much more restricted Only one species depicted in this plate is still in Anthrax

• Anthrax aethiops (Fabricius 1781)
• Anthrax alruqibi El-Hawagry, 2013^[4]
• Anthrax analis Say, 1823
• Anthrax anthrax (Schrank 1781)
• Anthrax argentatus (Cole, 1919)
• Anthrax artemesia Marston, 1963
• Anthrax atriplex Marston, 1970
• Anthrax aureosquamosus Marston, 1963
• Anthrax binotatus Wiedemann in Meigen 1820
• Anthrax bowdeni Báez 1983
• Anthrax cascadensis Marston, 1963
• Anthrax cathetodaithmos Marston, 1970
• Anthrax chaparralus Marston, 1963
• Anthrax chionostigma Tsacas 1962
• Anthrax cintalapa Cole, 1957
• Anthrax columbiensis Marston, 1963
• Anthrax cybele (Coquillett, 1894)
• Anthrax dentata Becker 1907
• Anthrax distigma Wiedemann
• Anthrax francoisi Evenhuis & Greathead 1999
• Anthrax gideon Fabricius, 1805
• Anthrax giselae François 1966
• Anthrax greatheadi El-Hawagry 1998
• Anthrax innublipennis Marston, 1970
• Anthrax johanni Zaitzev 1997
• Anthrax koebelei Marston, 1970
• Anthrax larrea Marston, 1963
• Anthrax laticellus Marston, 1970
• Anthrax melanopogon (Becker, 1892)
• Anthrax moursyi El-Hawagry 1998
• Anthrax nidicola Cole, 1952
• Anthrax nigriventris Marston, 1970
• Anthrax nitidus Marston, 1970
• Anthrax oedipus Fabricius, 1805
• Anthrax painteri Marston, 1970
• Anthrax pauper (Loew, 1869)
• Anthrax pelopeius François 1966
• Anthrax picea Marston, 1963
• Anthrax pilosulus Strobl 1902
• Anthrax plesius (Curran, 1927)
• Anthrax pluricellus Williston, 1901
• Anthrax pluto Wiedemann, 1828
• Anthrax punctulatus Macquart 1835
• Anthrax seriepinctatus (Osten Sacken, 1886)
• Anthrax slossonae (Johnson, 1913)
• Anthrax snowi Marston, 1970
• Anthrax stellans (Loew, 1869)
• Anthrax sticticus Klug 1832
• Anthrax striatipennis Marston, 1970
• Anthrax trifasciatus Meigen 1804
• Anthrax vallicola Marston, 1963
• Anthrax varius Fabricius 1794
• Anthrax virgo Egger 1859
• Anthrax zohrayensis El-Hawagry 2002
• Anthrax zonabriphagus (Portchinsky 1895

References

1. F. M. Hull (1973). Bee flies of the world. The genera of the family Bombyliidae. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 1–687. ISBN 0-87474-131-9.
2. Eaton, Eric R.; Kaufman, Kenn (2007). Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-618-15310-7.
3. Magdi S. El-Hawagry; Aly A. El-Moursy; Francis Gilbert; Samy Zalat (2000). "The tribe Anthracini Latreille (Bombyliidae, Diptera) from Egypt" (PDF). Egyptian Journal of Biology. 2: 97–117.
4. El-Hawagry; Khalil; Sharaf; Fadl; Aldawood (2013). "A preliminary study on the insect fauna of Al-Baha Province, Saudi Arabia, with descriptions of two new species". ZooKeys. 274: 1–88. doi:10.3897/zookeys.274.4529.