Musca (Philaematomyia) crassirostris Stein in Becker, 1903

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Deeming, John C., 2020, The Muscidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, descriptions of two new species, new records and updated list of species, Zootaxa 4869 (1), pp. 1-54 : 14

Musca (Philaematomyia) crassirostris Stein in Becker, 1903 ( Fig. 11 )

Musca crassirostris Stein in Becker 1903: 99 .

Specimens examined. 1f, Jazan, Farasan Island, Aziz Yousef Village , 29.x.2014, sweeping, H.A. Dawah ( CERS); 1m, 1f , Asir, Keratha, Al-Ethrebany Fruit Farm, 6–27.v.2014, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah ( CERS); 2m, 1f, Maraba , Al-Hudaithy fruit farm, 1–17.vi.2003, Malaise ( NMWC; CERS); 1m, same data but 1–30.v.2004 ( CERS); 1m , Jazan, Sabya, Al-Sunef mango farm, 8.v.–17.vi.2003, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah and M.A. Abdullah ( NMWC); 1m , Asir, Tahama Tanoma, Al-Bekra village , 20.i. 2003, swept from grasses, H.A. Dawah ( NMWC) .

Distribution. This species was previously recorded from Saudi Arabia by Pont (1991); Dawah & Abdullah (2009); El-Hawagry et al. (2018). It was described from Egypt. In the Middle East it is known from Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Yemen ( Mellor 1978; Pont 1980; 1991; Deeming 2008; Dawah & Abdullah 2009).

Biological remarks. The biology of M. (Philaematomyia) crassirostris is very similar to that of some species of stomoxyine Muscidae ( Haematobia Le Peletier & Serville ), although it is not a stomoxyine ( Crosskey 1993). Larvae breed mainly in cow dung ( Zimin 1951; Pont 1991) and horse dung ( Greenberg 1973) and adults are bloodfeeders on cattle and buffalo ( Deeming 2008; Patton & Cragg 1912). Thomson (1947) studied the biology of this species and noted that very fresh dung was favoured, oviposition following soon after that of Haematobia and Brontaea Kowarz. Several authors comment on the blood-feeding habits of this species. Greenberg (1973) and Pont (1991) reported that the proboscis in this species has greatly enlarged prestomal teeth with which it is able to pierce soft skin of the host to promote a flow of blood. It is an important disease-carrying species amongst stock animals ( Desquesnes et al. 2018).

Figures

FIGURE. 10–13. Muscidae species habitus: 10) Musca (Musca) domestica L., 1758, ssp. domestica, L, Female; 11) Musca (Philaematomyia) crassirostris Stein in Becker, 1903, Female; 12) Neomyia albigena (Stein, 1913), Female; 13) Neomyia nudissima (Loew, 1852).