Rivellia

{{Short description|Genus of insects}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Fly August 2010-1.jpg

| image_caption = Rivellia syngenesiae

| taxon = Rivellia

| authority = Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830

| type_species = Rivellia herbarum

| type_species_authority = Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830

}}

File:Rivellia syngenesiae - copula - 2013-06-15.webm

File:Mating signal flies.webm mating.]]

Rivellia is a genus of signal flies (insects in the family Platystomatidae). There are at least 140 described species in Rivellia.

{{Cite web| title=Rivellia Genus Information

| url=https://bugguide.net/node/view/18172

| website=BugGuide.net

| access-date=2018-02-27

}}

{{Cite web| title=Rivellia Report

| url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=142515

| website=Integrated Taxonomic Information System

| access-date=2018-02-27

}}

{{Cite web| title=Rivellia Overview

| url=http://eol.org/pages/55255/overview

| website=Encyclopedia of Life

| access-date=2018-02-27

}}

{{Cite web| title=Browse Rivellia

| url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/browse/tree/id/89d95f614054a6d9629c71152952e90f

| website=Catalogue of Life

| access-date=2018-02-27

}}

Economic importance

There is limited information and understanding about the juvenile stages of most signal fly species. Thirteen species of Rivellia have, however, been studied in the field of agriculture because the larvae of many of these flies are associated with both living and decaying root nodules of nitrogen-fixing legumes, such as soybean, peanuts, and pigeon pea. They can also be found on the roots or flowers of other cultivated plants like eggplant, sorghum, black locust, and Narcissus.Whittington, A E (2019) The economic significance of the signal fly genus Rivellia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Platystomatidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 49(2): 135–160. https://zenodo.org/records/3371321

With soybean, this association has been shown to be economically significant because pest-induced stress caused by these flies can significantly reduce nitrogen fixation and yields; Rivellia quadrifasciata, Rivellia basilaris, and Rivellia basilaris are all known pests of root nodules of this crop. Because this is a widely distributed genus, economically important effects are likely to be found in many other crops world-wide.

See also

References