Taxonomic composition of dendrobiontic diptera and the main trends of their adaptive radiation

Abstract

Some dipterans breeding in the wood and bark of dying trees are analyzed. Nematocera are most closely associated with decaying wood; they play the predominant role in its decomposition. Among the higher Brachycera, the species dwelling in bark predominate. Directly in the wood substrate, specific characters of the wood favor the development of relic forms of Diptera. Nine ecological groups of xylo-and phlaeobionts were distinguished. Settlement on wood as a specific substrate is concluded to be one of the trends in the evolution of dipterans. Despite the breeding of the relic dipteran groups in wood, this fact cannot be the initial point for further radiation of dipterans.