Megaselia halterata

{{short description|Species of fly}}

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| genus = Megaselia

| species = halterata

| authority = (Wood, 1910)

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The mushroom phorid fly (Megaselia halterata) is a species of scuttle fly or hump-backed flies in the family Phoridae. "The mushroom phorid" is also used to refer to M. halterata.Baker et al. 2019. Pennsylvania State University Fact Sheet. https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/phorid-flies-mushroom Megaselia halterata is a common pest of mushroom cultivation, attracted by the aroma of developing fungal mycelium. The larvae damage both the mushroom mycelium and gill tissues.{{cite journal |last1=Johal |first1=Kuldip |last2=Disney |first2=R. H. L. |title=Phoridae (Diptera) as pests of cultivated oyster mushrooms (Agaricales: Pleurotaceae) in India |journal=Bulletin of Entomological Research |date=1994 |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=247–254 |doi=10.1017/S0007485300039754 }} Megaslia halterata can be found worldwide.Baker et al. 2019. Pennsylvania State University Fact Sheet. https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/phorid-flies-mushroom

Megaselia halterata is an important pest of mushroom cultivation, capable of severely limiting mushroom yield. Megaselia are naturally infected by Howardula nematodes,{{cite journal |last1=Rinker |first1=D. L. |last2=Snetsinger |first2=R. J. |title=Damage Threshold to a Commercial Mushroom by a Mushroom-Infesting Phorid (Diptera: Phoridae) |journal=Journal of Economic Entomology |date=1 April 1984 |volume=77 |issue=2 |pages=449–453 |doi=10.1093/jee/77.2.449 }} however entomopathogenic nematodes do not readily control M. halterata.{{cite journal |last1=Scheepmaker |first1=J.W.A. |last2=Geels |first2=F.P. |last3=van Griensven |first3=L.J.L.D. |last4=Smits |first4=P.H. |title=Susceptibility of larvae of the mushroom fly Megaselia halterata to the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema feltiae in bioassays |journal=BioControl |date=1998 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=201–214 |doi=10.1023/A:1009954401065 |bibcode=1998BioCo..43..201S |s2cid=37370189 }}{{cite journal |last1=Navarro |first1=María Jesús |last2=Gea |first2=Francisco José |title=Entomopathogenic nematodes for the control of phorid and sciarid flies in mushroom crops |journal=Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira |date=January 2014 |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=11–17 |doi=10.1590/S0100-204X2014000100002 |doi-access=free }}