Research
digging deeper
Phoridae tiny flies in a large family
Humpbacked flies, or scuttle flies, is the common name for flies in the family Phoridae. Over 4,000 species of flies have been described and named in the family. To put this in context, there are only about 5,500 species of mammals described and named. Phoridae is only one of the 110 families of Diptera, or true flies.
Phorid flies are often overlooked due to their small size (0.4 – 6mm in length). However, they are among the most biologically diverse groups of insects. Some species are predators, some are parasites or parasitoids, and others are fungivores and saprophages. Some species live in ant and terminte colonies and have even lost their wings and evolved to mimic their hosts.
Myriophora the millipede-killing flies
My dissertation was focused systematics and natural history of the phorid genus Myriophora. Female flies in this genus locate their millipede hosts by detecting the millipede's defensive compounds. These compounds usually protect millipedes from mammal predators, but in this case, it leaves them vulnerable to be parasitized by these flies.
Before I began my work on this genus, only a handful of specimens were formally described, their host location mechanism was unknown, and the evolutionary relationships between the species handn't been explored. I described 57 species that were new to science from North and South America, but much more work needs to be done on the Asian, African, and European species.
Please visit the species pages to see more information on individual species geographic distribution, diagnosis, and images. Also visit my Google Scholar profile or CV to see a list of relevant publications.
Other Projects
Currently, I am expanding my knowledge of flies beyond extant (currently living) phorid flies to fossil species in related families and higher-level phylogenetics research into the "Lower Brachycera." Flies in the Lower Brachycera are generally large flies that are predators and flower visitors.
I've also had the opportunity to publish some of my research from as an undergraduate student on California zooarchaelogy and taphony of native fish bones.
See my CV and Google Scholar page for more details.
