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Xylophagus ater
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Xylophagidae
Genus:	Xylophagus
Species:	X. ater
Binomial name
	Xylophagus ater; Meigen, 1804
Synonyms
	Rhachicerus aterrimus Senior-White, 1924; Erinna kowarzi Pleske, 1925;

Pairing

Oviposition

Xylophagus ater is a species of awl fly belonging to the family Xylophagidae found in Central Europe and North Europe.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Description

The basal segment of the antenna is long, the length at least three times the width. In males the mesonotum is finely sculptured, shining, with two inconspicuous stripes of golden hairs. Females have three pollinose stripes on the mesonotum. The body length is 8 to 15 millimeters.

Biology

Larvae of Xylophagus ater are predatory. They feed on beetle larvae of the families Cerambycidae and Pyrochroidae which develop in dead branches of a wide variety of broadleaved trees.

References

^ Meigen, J.W. (1804). Klassifikazion und Beschreibung der europäischen zweiflügligen Insekten. (Diptera Linn.). Erster Band. Abt. I. Abt. II. Braunschweig [= Brunswick]: Reichard. pp. xxviii + pp. 1-152, vi + pp. 153-314.
^ Senior-White, R.A. (1924). "New Ceylon Diptera (Part III)". Spolia Zeylanica. 12: 375–406.
^ Pleske, Th. (1925). "Revision des especes palearctiques des familles Erinnidae et Coenomyiidae. (B), II Diptera 2". Encycl. Ent.: 161–184.
^ Alexander, K. N. A. (1993). "The Status and Distribution of Xylophagus ater Meigen (Diptera: Xylophagidae) in Ireland". The Irish Naturalists' Journal. 24 (8): 316–318. ISSN 0021-1311.
^ Stubbs, Alan E.; Drake, Martin (2001). British Soldierflies and their allies: A Field Guide to the Larger British Brachycera (Print). London: British Entomological and Natural History Society. pp. 528 pages. ISBN 1-899935-04-5.
^ Woodley, N.E. (2011). "A World Catalog of the Xylophagidae (Insecta: Diptera)". Myia. 12: 455–500.