identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
D76CE4784003E52FFE959F00FC97A7EC.text	D76CE4784003E52FFE959F00FC97A7EC.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Aenigmatistes Shelford 1908	<div><p>Aenigmatistes Shelford (total of one photo of one mating event examined: Figure 1A)</p><p>Aenigmatistes has an accentuated sexual dimorphism with the males conserving a relatively common body shape and structures while the females are apterous and highly modified, with a limuloid shape adapted to live in nests of social insects (Brown 1993). Figure 1A illustrates the first record of specimens of this genus copulating. Despite the dimorphism with the male being much larger than the female, they conserve the general mating position.  Aenigmatias, a closely related genus, has a similar dimorphism with the male additionally presenting modified foretarsi which were inferred to be used in transporting the female during copulation (Dupont and Pape 2007).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE4784003E52FFE959F00FC97A7EC	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE4784003E52FFEE59EA0FBDCA0F9.text	D76CE4784003E52FFEE59EA0FBDCA0F9.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Chaetopleurophora Schmitz 1922	<div><p>Chaetopleurophora Schmitz (total of four photos of three mating events examined: Figure 1 B-D)</p><p>Chaetopleurophora does not have any notable sexually dimorphic characteristics except the male genitalia. The male hypopygium has developed surstyli and an elongated median process under the cerci (figs 7–9 in Nakayama 2007). The photos show  Chaetopleurophora in the general mating position but do not allow the observation of the hypopygium.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE4784003E52FFEE59EA0FBDCA0F9	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE4784003E52CFE8599CDFC5DA1EB.text	D76CE4784003E52CFE8599CDFC5DA1EB.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Coniceromyia Borgmeier 1923	<div><p>Coniceromyia Borgmeier (total of 10 photos of three mating events examined: Figure 2)</p><p>Coniceromyia is among the phorid genera with the most diverse secondary sexual characteristics (Ament et al. 2021). The males of this genus have sexually dimorphic structures in different podomeres of all legs, wings and head. The male forelegs are highly modified and diverse, with the foremetatarsus being unique for most species of the genus (figs 8–12 in Ament et al. 2020). The evolution and functional morphology of these structures were discussed by Ament et al. (2021) but without any direct evidence of their use. The photos we examined here are the first records of  Coniceromyia mating and bring light to the possible function of some of these structures.</p><p>Coniceromyia has a mating position unique in the family, with the male projected anteriorly, sometimes with his head even farther anterior than the female’s (Figure 2A–D). This is possible due to the male being slightly larger than the female and the female abdomen bending upward during mating. The position allows the male to suspend its forelegs over the female’s head, in one photo even touching the female’s frons (Figure 2D).  Coniceromyia males have several sexually dimorphic features on the foreleg which could be in use in this position. In general, the male structures do not appear to be physically restraining the females; instead, they seem to be used as stimulatory contact devices, possibly contacting the frons or arista of the females (although a clear contact is only visible in Figure 2D).</p><p>Some of the main sexually dimorphic features of  Coniceromyia are present in the male foremetatarsus (Ament et al. 2021). The males of all species have an apical anterodorsal setulose projection in this podomere (visible in Figure 2E) which is often accompanied by a highly variable anterior excavation. Often, the foremetatarsus is also swollen or elongated and in some species has complex microsculpture in its excavation. These characteristics alongside the position of this tarsomere in the photos indicate that the males could be using the foremetatarsus to mechanically stimulate the females. Additionally, the morphological modifications of the foremetatarsus suggest the possibility of internal glands, which, in this case, could be producing secretions used in this stimulation.</p><p>Some other male features are also corroborated as potential female stimulatory structures by their morphology and the mating position of the photos. This is the case for males’ elongated, ventrally curved setae on the apical foretarsomere, a ventral setulose process on the foretrochanter and elongated setae ventrally on the midcoxa (present in one, six and one species, respectively; Ament et al. 2021). All of these features would be able to contact the female in this male-forward position. Other male-exclusive features also seem suited for mechanical stimulation, such as the curved forecoxa of one species and the strong setulae, spines and microsculputural modifications of the foretibia and forefemur of others (Ament et al. 2021). However,none of these podomeres appear in the photos with a potential contact with the female.</p><p>Figure 2F shows an aggregation of  Coniceromyia males over a leaf. This could represent the first non-aerial lekking behaviour recorded for the phorids (although some other forms of aggregation should be also considered). A lekking behaviour in the genus could be related to some other sexually dimorphic features of  Coniceromyia that suggest a visual courtship function such as species-specific wing and foreleg patterning.</p><p>The photos are not helpful in providing insights on the role of some other male exclusive characteristics such as the enlarged first flagellomere present in most species and the hind femur posterior group of tiny blunt setulae near the base (figs 17–23 in Ament et al. 2020). In contrast to  Dohrniphora, which have setulae and ornamentation in the same position on the hind femur (discussed below), the photos do not show  Coniceromyia males contacting the females with their hind femur. Additionally, the hind femur group of tiny blunt setulae of  Coniceromyia are much less complex and diversified than  Dohrniphora .</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE4784003E52CFE8599CDFC5DA1EB	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE4784000E522FF6C98D8FB71A4A6.text	D76CE4784000E522FF6C98D8FB71A4A6.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Diplonevra Lioy 1864	<div><p>Diplonevra Lioy (total of 18 photos of seven mating events examined: Figure 3A–D)</p><p>The photos show a general mating position for  Diplonevra with a few slight differences present in some of them. In one mating event, the female abdomen seems especially bent upward (Figure 3A) but this could be artefactual as it was not seen in the other photos. In two other photos, a structure of the female terminalia is contacting the male (Figure 3B). We identified this structure as two enlarged lobes that together form a roof-like plate covering the cerci. In another mating event (Figure 3C,D), the male lifts both forelegs during mating, a behaviour not seen in other photos of  Diplonevra . We do not know of any modified structure in the  Diplonevra foreleg that could be related to this behaviour.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE4784000E522FF6C98D8FB71A4A6	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400EE522FF6C9C1AFD3FA19C.text	D76CE478400EE522FF6C9C1AFD3FA19C.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Dohrniphora Dahl 1898	<div><p>Dohrniphora Dahl (total of 32 photos of 13 mating events examined: Figure 3E–H)</p><p>Dohrniphora has one of the greatest structural diversifications of the  Phoridae, with males bearing almost 314 different types of ornamentation and chaetotaxy on the base of the posterior face of their hind femur (nearly one per species, eg figs in Brown and Kung 2010). The males of some  Dohrniphora species also have other sexually dimorphic structures such as a patch of differentiated setulae on the forefemur (figs 325, 326 in Brown and Kung 2010), enlarged foremetatarsus (fig. 327 in Brown and Kung 2010) and hind coxal lobes (figs 307–314 in Brown and Kung 2010). Body-size sexual dimorphism seems to be widespread in the genus, with the males being much smaller than the females (Figure 3E–H).</p><p>Dohrniphora is one of the few genera in the family for which there is a detailed description of its mating habits (Barnes 1990). Barnes (1990) commented that, during mating, the  Dohrniphora cornuta male ‘pivoted on the bases of his hind femora’ and that he ‘stretched his hind legs backward and waved them up and down at a rate of about twice per second, causing his entire body to rock’. Barnes (1990) also noted that the females waved their abdomen up and down, raising the males well above them.</p><p>Barnes’ observations are corroborated by the photos we examined which show that this behaviour and mating position is widespread in the genus. All photos show the male hind femur modified structures at the level of possible contact with the female terminalia and the males being lifted to different heights (Figure 3E–H). The male hind leg waving noted by Barnes suggests that the hind femur structures could be stimulating the female terminalia. Alternatively, the male lifting characteristic of the genus could be indicating a possible grasping function for the hind femur structures given that, during the lifting, the male’s legs almost do not contact the substrate. Probably also for holding,  Dohrniphora males cross their hind legs during mating (Figure 3E–H), behaviour not found in any other genera.</p><p>The remarkable modifications of the hind femur of  Dohrniphora males may include concavities, projections, lobes, spines and various types of setulae (Brown and Kung 2010). The morphological aspects of these modifications seem to fit both hypotheses of stimulating or grasping the female. We assume that the males’ hind coxal lobes could have a similar stimulatory or grasping function to their hind femur structures. The other male features on the foreleg are harder to explain considering that the males do not have any special contact of this leg with the female in the photos.</p><p>Dohrniphora females have a characteristic pair of lateral plates on their abdominal segment 7 (visible in Figure 3F,H) which was observed by Barnes (1990) to be contacted by the male hind femur structures during mating. It is unknown whether these female plates are morphologically variable across the genus or if they are under selective pressures related to male hind femur stimulation.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400EE522FF6C9C1AFD3FA19C	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400EE521FE9B9B30FEF3A4A6.text	D76CE478400EE521FE9B9B30FEF3A4A6.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Neopleurophora Brown 1992	<div><p>Neopleurophora Brown (total of one photo of one mating event examined: Figure 4A)</p><p>Neopleurophora has high species-specific variation in the hypopygium and phallus morphology, but no other significant sexually dimorphic features (Ament and Amorim 2013).</p><p>The only photo we could examine of the mating of this genus shows a standard mating position.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400EE521FE9B9B30FEF3A4A6	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400DE521FEA99C02FC3BA676.text	D76CE478400DE521FEA99C02FC3BA676.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Palpocrates Schmitz 1939	<div><p>Palpocrates Schmitz (total of two photos of one mating event examined: Figure 4B)</p><p>The only characteristic non-genitalic sexual dimorphism of  Palpocrates is the male enlarged palpi. The photos examined show a standard mating position for the genus and do not help in understanding whether the males’ enlarged palpi play a role during mating. Notably, the male head is not too elevated and a possible contact between his palpi and the female dorsum seems reasonable, although not recorded.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400DE521FEA99C02FC3BA676	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400DE521FEAB9F72FB75A799.text	D76CE478400DE521FEAB9F72FB75A799.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Phlebothrix Borgmeier 1969	<div><p>Phlebothrix Borgmeier (total of seven photos of two mating events examined: Figure 4 C-D)</p><p>Phlebothrix is a genus originally described from four specimens from  Nosy Be, an island along the north-west coast of Madagascar (Schmitz 1929). The surprising records of the genus posted on iNaturalist are from Reunión Island, between Madagascar and Mauritius. The males of the genus are much smaller than the females and have relatively larger antennae. The photos examined show a peculiar mating position for  Phlebothrix with the male head and, in one of them, half of his thorax under the female wings (Figure 4C). In this position, a possible use for their enlarged antenna could be to stimulate the venter of the female wings. However, this stimulatory function cannot be further corroborated by morphological data given that there is no detailed structural study of  Phlebothrix male antenna.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400DE521FEAB9F72FB75A799	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400DE521FEA79955FEC0A2F3.text	D76CE478400DE521FEA79955FEC0A2F3.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Phora Latreille	<div><p>Phora Latreille (total of 70 photos of 44 mating events examined: Figure 4E–F)</p><p>Phora is the genus for which we found the most photos on iNaturalist, probably because of the size and conspicuousness of these phorids.  Phora males are larger than the females and have a group of setulae on the posterior face of the hind femur and a highly variable hypopygia with developed surstyli. The photos examined show a standard mating position (Figure 4E–F). A video posted by one of us (BVB) shows a  Phora pair mating (https:// 10.5281/zenodo.14625309). The video starts with the male and female already in copula and the male performing rhythmic up-and-down movements of his hind femora which seem to be rubbing the female terminalia. As in  Dohrniphora, the base of the posterior face of the male hind femur is the region in apparent contact with the female terminalia. This phase lasts for at least 25 seconds (captured by the video). After this, there is a short stop phase in which the male is motionless, followed by a few up-down movements of the male hind leg and detachment from the female. The female does not seem to make clear rejection movements in the video. In spite of the male hind femur’s possible role of female stimulation, this structure is not variable within the genus, contrasting with the case of  Dohrniphora .</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400DE521FEA79955FEC0A2F3	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400CE527FE4598FBFC9CA052.text	D76CE478400CE527FE4598FBFC9CA052.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Phorinae	<div><p>Unknown genus 1 (total of two photos of one mating event examined: Figure 7C,D)</p><p>Although we could not identify the genus in these photos, we selected this record due to the unusual mating position of the male under the female wings. Considering the male’s apparently reduced frons, lack of wing vein R2+3, and conical first flagellomere, we believe the specimens could belong to  Conicera Meigen. Notably, this is another case in which the male with a modified first flagellomere mates under the female wings, as in  Phlebothrix and  Stichillus, possibly using its antenna to stimulate the wings.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400CE527FE4598FBFC9CA052	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400CE520FEBD9D92FC44A528.text	D76CE478400CE520FEBD9D92FC44A528.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Spiniphora Malloch 1909	<div><p>Spiniphora Malloch (total of six photos of four mating events examined: Figure 4G–H)</p><p>Based on the few photos examined,  Spiniphora has a standard mating position and no special action was identified. Note that Figure 4G shows the well-developed right surstylus of the male in contact with the female terminalia (white arrow).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400CE520FEBD9D92FC44A528	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400CE520FEA79C91FC10A6A3.text	D76CE478400CE520FEA79C91FC10A6A3.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Stichillus Enderlein 1924	<div><p>Stichillus Enderlein (total of 12 photos of seven mating events examined: Figure 5A–D)</p><p>In some photos examined,  Stichillus is in the standard mating position (Figure 5A,B). In other photos, the male is partially under the female wings, touching her abdomen with his foretarsi while the female has the wings angled in a ‘V’ and slightly lifted (Figure 5C,D). Males of some species of  Stichillus have expanded apical foretarsomeres or even all foretarsomeres expanded laterally, but greatly shortened (eg  S. latipes Borgmeier). This modification is accompanied by an enlarged pulvillus and thin tarsal claws on the apical foretarsomere (as in Brown 1992, figs 12D–F). The photos show this structure in contact with the female abdomen.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400CE520FEA79C91FC10A6A3	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400CE520FEA69E0BFC01A0F2.text	D76CE478400CE520FEA69E0BFC01A0F2.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Triphleba Rondani 1856	<div><p>Triphleba Rondani (total of eight photos of five mating events examined: Figure 6 A-H)</p><p>The photos show that body-size sexual dimorphism occurs in  Triphleba with males larger than females (Figure 6E) as well as females larger than males (Figure 6A). In general, the genus apparently has a standard mating position, with males often reaching more anteriorly than usual, even contacting the female’s scutum (Figure 6D) or base of the wing (Figure 6A,B,E). In many species,  Triphleba males have an enlarged first flagellomere compared to the female (eg Figure 6D,E). The photos do not, however, help to understand the role of this feature. Additionally, a  Triphleba female captured in copula shows a remarkable unreported characteristic for the genus: two large sacs expanding laterally from the abdomen, each bearing a group of stout long setae (Figure 6G,H).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400CE520FEA69E0BFC01A0F2	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400CE520FEBF99FBFEF3A1F2.text	D76CE478400CE520FEBF99FBFEF3A1F2.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Wharia Brown and Oliver	<div><p>Wharia Brown and Oliver (total of two photos of one mating event examined: Figure 7A,B)</p><p>Wharia is a genus known only from a few specimens, and to find records of this genus on iNaturalist was surprising. The only mating photo examined shows a standard mating position.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400CE520FEBF99FBFEF3A1F2	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400BE527FEBB9B30FEE0A2AC.text	D76CE478400BE527FEBB9B30FEE0A2AC.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Gymnophora Macquart 1835	<div><p>Gymnophora Macquart (total of 24 photos of nine mating events examined: Figure 8A,B)</p><p>The photos indicate a standard mating position for  Gymnophora; no special actions were identified.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400BE527FEBB9B30FEE0A2AC	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE478400BE527FE459990FD8DA1E4.text	D76CE478400BE527FE459990FD8DA1E4.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Phorinae	<div><p>Unknown genus 2 (total of two photos of one mating event examined: Figure 7E,F)</p><p>We also could not identify to genus level the specimens of Figure 7E,F, but these records are especially relevant as they show for the first time a probable  Phoridae female aerial swarm. The females’ abdomens are extended, with a pair of lateral sacs protruding, which seems to be another case of females displaying to males (as commented here for  Triphleba,  Megaselia and  Phalacrotophora).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE478400BE527FE459990FD8DA1E4	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE4784008E524FEB29D92FD3AA746.text	D76CE4784008E524FEB29D92FD3AA746.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Megaselia Rondani 1856	<div><p>Megaselia Rondani (total of 27 photos of 13</p><p>mating events examined: Figure 8 C-H)</p><p>Given that  Megaselia is one of the largest genera of the animal kingdom with about 1700 species described (Brown 2022), it would not be surprising if diverse mating patterns were found across the genus. Some of the photos examined show a standard mating position (Figure 8F). Others show a much smaller male, the female with her wings slightly lifted and the male touching her abdomen during mating (Figure 8H). Other than this variation in position, nothing else noteworthy was observed based on the photos.</p><p>Brown and Porras (2015) described an extravagant display of  Megaselia females from Costa Rica which evert abdominal sacs and flutter their wings to attract mates (10.5281/zenodo.14628212). They also highlighted that abdominal eversible sacs and display behaviour are probably present in the females of other species in  Megaselia and in other phorid genera (such as  Phalacrotophora,  Physoptera and  Syneura) as they have similar morphology of the abdomen with large areas not covered by tergites. We confirmed this prediction here by documenting abdominal sacs eversion in at least three other groups (Figures 6G,H, 7E,F, 10C). Additionally, we found photos of groups of  Megaselia females aggregating on leaves (Figure 8C–D). One possible explanation for such aggregation could be to display and attract males, another possible example of sex-role reversal in the genus (Sivinski 1988).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE4784008E524FEB29D92FD3AA746	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE4784008E524FEB09E62FE8CA08E.text	D76CE4784008E524FEB09E62FE8CA08E.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Melaloncha Brues 1904	<div><p>Melaloncha Brues (total of six photos of two mating events examined: Figure 9A,B)</p><p>The  Melaloncha males have a considerably larger foretarsus than the female and in some species there is striking sexual dimorphism regarding general body colour (Figure 9B). In the two mating events examined, the females had their wings slightly lifted and angled in a ‘V’, and the males were touching the dorsum of the female abdomen with their enlarged foretarsi, possibly stimulating it (Figure 9A,B). The morphological variation of the male foretarsus among  Melaloncha species is not fully studied, as most species are described based on female specimens, but in general the structural details are similar to those found in  Stichillus (above).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE4784008E524FEB09E62FE8CA08E	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
D76CE4784008E53AFE939813FE07A214.text	D76CE4784008E53AFE939813FE07A214.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Phalacrotophora Enderlein 1912	<div><p>Phalacrotophora Enderlein (total of 20 photos of</p><p>11 mating events examined: Figure 10A–H)</p><p>Phalacrotophora species may be parasites of nests of solitary bees (Batra 1965), parasitoids of beetle prepupa or pupa (Disney et al. 1994), parasites of  Eumenidae wasps (Borgmeier 1934) or predators of spider egg sacs (Muma and Stone 1971). These characteristics may influence their reproductive behaviour as reproductive availability in this genus is more circumstantial, depending on limited resources (hosts or prey). Wcislo (1990) described the reproductive biology of  Phalacrotophora halictorum (Melander and Brues), a parasite of the nest of the solitary bee  Lasioglossum (Dialictus) figueresi Wcislo ( Halictidae). The mating observed by Wcislo did not include premating courtship; it did include several during-mating flights and the post-coupling behaviour of males rapidly drumming their forelegs, apparently on the female’s notum.</p><p>We analysed photos and a video of  Phalacrotophora species from different localities, probably representing multiple species of the genus, and found behaviours different than the ones reported for  P. halictorum . The photos show  Phalacrotophora females aggregating on leaves (Figure 10B), possibly displaying to males (Figure 10A), and expanding abdominal sacs during copulation (Figure 10C). This eversion of abdominal sacs is probably common in the genus as many of its species have females with a tergite-free (membranous) area on their abdomen.</p><p>Most photos of mating we found for the genus showed the male in a unique perpendicular position in relation to the female, in some photos on her right side (Figure 10F), and in others on her left side (Figure 10E). A video uploaded on YouTube explained the situation: the male is constantly shifting sides during mating, a unique behaviour in the family (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TTZaijcOVgw). We do not know of any case of similar behaviour in other insects, and it could be a behaviour of the male to twist and stimulate the female genitalia.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D76CE4784008E53AFE939813FE07A214	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Ament, Danilo César;Brown, Brian Victor	Ament, Danilo César, Brown, Brian Victor (2025): Phoridae (Diptera) mating behaviour: identification of general patterns, exceptions and the use of sexually dimorphic structures based on vast citizen science data. Journal of Natural History 59 (9 - 12): 739-761, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656, URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2461656
