Leptoconops
Genus of flies / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leptoconops (black gnat)[1] is a midge genus in the family Ceratopogonidae.[2] It has a mostly tropical or subtropical distribution worldwide,[3] but some species occur as far north as Moscow region in Russia and the Yukon Territory in Canada.[4]
Leptoconops | |
---|---|
Leptoconops sp. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Family: | Ceratopogonidae |
Subfamily: | Leptoconopinae |
Genus: | Leptoconops Skuse, 1889 |
Synonyms | |
Tersesthes Townsend, 1893 |
This genus is relictual, having had a pantropical distribution during the Cretaceous.[5] The presence of Leptoconops, along with Austroconops, in ancient Lebanese amber makes these the earliest existing lineages of biting midges.[3] Extinct species have also been described from amber from Siberia, New Jersey, Canada, Hungary, Sakhalin, France,[4] and Spain.[6]
Adult Leptoconops females are diurnal feeders, and suck vertebrate blood. Adults of both sexes in some species rest by burying themselves in sand.[7] Larvae feed on algae, fungi, and bacteria. They burrow in moist, usually saline, sand or mud of desert areas and coastal and inland beaches.[3][4]