Puparium
Guides
Aleuroplatus gelatinosus
Aleuroplatus gelatinosus is a species of whitefly (family Aleyrodidae) described by Cockerell in 1898. It belongs to a genus characterized by distinctive puparial morphology. The species has been documented in California and the northwestern region of Mexico. Like other whiteflies, it is presumed to feed on plant phloem, though specific host associations remain poorly documented.
Aleyrodinae
whiteflies
Aleyrodinae is the largest subfamily of whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), containing the majority of described species. Members are small, sap-sucking insects with powdery white wax-coated wings in adults. The subfamily includes economically significant agricultural pests such as Bemisia tabaci and Aleurotrachelus trachoides, which cause damage through direct feeding and virus transmission. A field survey in Belize recorded nearly 200 whitefly species, with all but 40 belonging to Aleyrodinae.
Carnidae
bird flies, filth flies
Carnidae is a family of small flies (Diptera) comprising six genera and approximately 93 species worldwide. Most species are saprophagous, with larvae developing in bird nest litter, dung, carrion, and decaying organic matter. Members of the genus Carnus are exceptional within the family, being haematophagous ectoparasites of nestling birds. Adults are typically 1–2 mm, black, and characterized by distinctive arrangements of orbital setae on the frons.
Cuterebra buccata
rabbit bot fly
Cuterebra buccata is a New World bot fly in the family Oestridae, commonly known as the rabbit bot fly. Adults are large, bumble bee-sized flies that lack functional mouthparts and do not feed. The species is host-specific to lagomorphs, particularly cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus). Larvae develop subcutaneously in warbles, feeding on host fluids rather than tissue. Adults are rarely encountered in the field and have short lifespans focused on reproduction.
bot-flymyiasisparasitelagomorphrabbitOestridaeCuterebrinaebumble-bee-mimicrywarblesubcutaneous-parasitehost-specificnon-feeding-adultpupariumCuterebraSylvilaguscottontail-rabbitNew-WorldNorth-AmericaVirginiaMissouriVermontspring-emergencelate-summer-prevalencerarely-encounteredshort-lived-adultevolutionary-coevolutionbenign-parasitismsoil-pupationlarval-migrationsubcutaneous-developmentDipteraInsectaentomologymedical-entomologyveterinary-entomologywildlife-diseaseparasitologyhost-parasite-interactioncuterebridrabbit-parasitelagomorph-parasitebotwarble-flygadflyOestrus-buccataFabricius-1775Cuterebra-buccata-(Fabricius,-1775)Cuterebra tenebriformis
Platypezoidea
Platypezoidea is a superfamily of true flies within the section Aschiza of the suborder Brachycera. Adults lack the ptilinum—a sac-like structure used by Schizophora to emerge from the puparium—and therefore do not possess the characteristic inverted-U-shaped ptilinal suture above the antennae. The superfamily contains five families: Phoridae (coffin and scuttle flies), Opetiidae (flat-footed flies), Ironomyiidae (ironic flies), Lonchopteridae (spear-winged or pointed-wing flies), and Platypezidae (flat-footed flies). Some classifications separate Ironomyiidae, Lonchopteridae, and Phoridae as the distinct superfamily Phoroidea.