Dryomyza anilis

Distinguished from other Dryomyzidae by the combination of: nearly-bare arista, covered lunule, and developed prostigmatic and prescutellar bristles. Among eastern North American Dryomyza species, it is the most common and has the strongest wing markings. D. simplex and Dryope decipita are less common sympatric species with weaker wing patterns.

Moist, shady habitats among low-growing vegetation. Adults frequent carrion (fox, pheasant), human excrement, and malodorous stinkhorn fungi. Development requires dead animal matter; unable to complete development on decaying plant matter or cow manure.

Holarctic distribution. Nearctic: Canada and northern United States. Palearctic: widespread from United Kingdom to Japan. In the United Kingdom, common and widespread in England and Wales, less common in Scotland. Also recorded from Belgium and Denmark.

Adults most prevalent in the wild from May to September.

Adults feed on carrion, fungi, and excrement. Larvae derive nutrition from microorganisms in rotting organic substrates; pharyngeal ridges in larval skeletons filter food. Can develop on dead insects, vertebrates, and rotting fungi but not on decaying plant matter.

Egg: creamy white, 1.25 × 0.45 mm, with paired flanges and hexagonal surface pattern; incubation ~24 hours. Larva: three instars; first instar 1.67–2.96 mm, third instar 4.10–9.42 mm; translucent integument. Pupa: puparium 4.41–6.23 mm, light yellow-brown to reddish brown with darker segments 2–4 and 12. Development from egg to pupa possible on dead animal matter but not decaying vegetation.

Males exhibit territorial behavior, defending carcasses and females. Larger males win resource conflicts and hold territories. Mating occurs through repeated copulation-oviposition cycles (up to six). Males remain mounted during cycles, performing postcopulatory tapping rituals (8–31 sequences of ~20 taps each) that increase fertilization success. Males provide nuptial gifts (regurgitated drops) during courtship. Females are polyandrous, mating with multiple males; they use behavioral defenses (abdominal turning, kicking, shaking, rolling) to reject unwanted males.

Saprophage, contributing to decomposition of carrion and organic matter. Documented use of Pacific salmon carcasses as food source and oviposition substrate in coastal North Pacific; potential sensitivity to salmon population declines.

Used extensively in behavioral ecology research on sexual selection, sperm competition, and mating systems. Genome sequenced as part of the Darwin Tree of Life project.

• Dryomyza simplexLess common sympatric species in eastern United States with weaker wing markings
• Dryope decipitaLess common sympatric species in eastern United States with weaker wing markings

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Bembicid Holdings | Entomology Research Museum
• Mating behavior and sperm competition in the fly, Dryomyza anilis
• Female Mating Behaviour and Multiple Matings in the Fly, Dryomyza Anilis
• Size-related male movement and its effect on spatial and temporal male distribution at female oviposition sites in the fly Dryomyza anilis
• The effect of postcopulatory male behaviour on ejaculate distribution within the female sperm storage organs of the fly, Dryomyza anilis (Diptera : Dryomyzidae)
• Male distribution and interactions at female oviposition sites as factors affecting mating success in the flyDryomyza anilis (Dryomyzidae)
• The genome sequence of the acalyptrate fly Dryomyza anilis Fallén, 1820.