Some Aspects of the Ecology and Geography of Diptera

Abstract

The Diptera constitute one of the major orders of insects in India and present a number of complex problems in ecology and distribution. With perhaps the exception of certain groups of medical and veterinary importance, the order has, however, been sadly neglected and the total number of species so far described from within the biogeographical area of India is less than two thousand. Our limited experience in the field with certain families like Chloropidae, Agromyzidae, etc. has demonstrated that this must represent perhaps less than one-twentieth of the species that still await discovery. Our knowledge of the distribution of even the known species is extremely meagre and the life-histories and habits of hardly half a dozen species are adequately known. An attempt at discussing the ecology and geography of the order under these discouraging circumstances must, therefore, appear purposeless; our main object here is on the other hand to draw attention of workers to certain broad trends and thus stimulate further research. We consider in the following pages in more or less general terms certain salient aspects of the ecology, distributional peculiarities and faunistic affinities mainly of Tipuloidea, Mycetophiloidea, Culicidae, Simuliidae, Bibionidae, Blepharoceridae, Deuterophlebiidae, Psychodidae, Stratiomyiidae, Tabanidae, Syrphidae, Calliphoridae, Chloropidae and Agromyzidae.