#Biodiversity150 number 108 of 150 Waltzing fly

108/150: Dead moose, buffet, fighting arena, or dance floor? For waltzing flies, it’s all the above

Animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Diptera: Piophilidae: Piophilinae: Prochyliza: Prochyliza xanthostoma (Walker, 1849)

This North American fly occurs in forests, aggregating around moose carcasses as they are carrion feeders. Females will wait on vegetation surrounding a carcass and watch males combat on the carcass. The flies are sexually dimorphic and males have larger antennae, head capsules, and foretarsi for competing in combat. Competing males begin to engage in combat by holding each other’s foretarsi out, then attempt to strike each other with their heads and antennae for up to two minutes. The winning male then must do an elaborate zig-zagging waltz around the female with his combat appendages raised to show them off. If the female accepts him, she spreads her forelegs and the male must do the same and touch forelegs with her, then somersault over her entirely and spin around to begin mating. The female will oviposit in the carcass where the larvae develop until they pupate in the ground. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

Specimen Hcmisc-161 – Virginia, United States. Photo Credit: Jaclyn McKeown, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics
Moose carcass on which waltzing flies breed on in the spring. Photo Credit: Snorre Tørriseng goo.gl/zwgWVD

Here’s the barcode sequence information for this species:

Process ID: PHDIP656-11

nucleotide sequence

AACATTATATTTTATATTCGGAGCTTGAGCTGGAATAGTAGGGACTTCTCTTAGTATTTTAATTCGAGCCGAATTAGGACATCCTGGAGCTTTAATTGGTGATGACCAAATTTATAATGTAATTGTTACAGCACATGCCTTTGTAATAATTTTTTTTATAGTTATACCAATTATAATTGGAGGATTTGGAAATTGATTAGTTCCTTTAATATTAGGAGCTCCTGATATAGCTTTCCCTCGAATAAATAATATAAGTTTTTGAATACTTCCACCTTCTTTAACCTTACTATTAGTAAGAAGTATAGTAGAAAACGGAGCTGGGACAGGTTGAACTGTTTACCCTCCTCTATCATCTGTAATTGCTCATGGAGGTGCTTCTGTTGATTTAGCTATTTTTTCTTTACACCTAGCTGGGATTTCTTCAATTTTAGGGGCTGTNAATTTTATTACAACTGTAATTAATATACGATCAACAGGAATCACTTTTGACCGAATACCTTTATTTGTTTGATCCGTTGTGATTACAGCTCTTTTATTACTTTTATCCCTCCCAGTATTAGCCGGAGCAATTACTATATTATTAACTGATCGAAATTTAAATACTTCATTTTTTGACCCAGCTGGAGGAGGAGACCCTATTCTTTACCAACATTTATTT

amino acid sequence

TLYFMFGAWAGMVGTSLSILIRAELGHPGALIGDDQIYNVIVTAHAFVMIFFMVMPIMIGGFGNWLVPLMLGAPDMAFPRMNNMSFWMLPPSLTLLLVSSMVENGAGTGWTVYPPLSSVIAHGGASVDLAIFSLHLAGISSILGAXNFITTVINMRSTGITFDRMPLFVWSVVITALLLLLSLPVLAGAITMLLTDRNLNTSFFDPAGGGDPILYQHLF

Visual representation of DNA barcode sequence for Waltzing fly

Learn more about it’s BIN (Barcode Index Number): BOLD:AAF6744


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