REVISION OF THE FAMILY CHLOROPIDAE ( DIPTERA ) IN IRAQ

The aim of this study is to survey and make to revision the genera and species of Chloropidae fauna of Iraq. The investigation showed four species belonging four genera, which belongs to two subfamilies, and one unidentified species belonging to the genus Elachiptera Maquart, The specimens were compared with stored insects at Department of Entomology and invertebrates, Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum.

The grass flies are also found in marshes, vegetation areas, forests; the members of the family are phytophagous.Some species as a gall maker of stems likes Lipara lucens Meigen, 1830 on Phragmites australis (Poaceae) are affected on the morphological tissue (Van de Vyvere and De Bruyn, 1988); and many larvae feed and developed flower heads, shoots and seeds of Poaceae and some feed on the stems of cereals, thus affected of economic production (Alford,1999;Karpa, 2001;Petrova et al., 2013).On the other hand some species as saprophytic which feed on damaged plant tissue by other insects such as Atherigona spp.(Diptera, Muscidae), larvae of lepidopterus stem borer and other arthropods (Von Tschirnhaus, 2002); and as predators of several insects like: aphids, eggs of grasshoppers and nuisance spiders, oothecae of mantids and eggs of Hemiptera (Dawah and Abdullh, 2006).Some species have medical and veterinary importance ( Nikapy et al., 2013) such as eye gnats attracted to human and other mammals where they hover about the face, body orifices and open wounds, such as Liohippelates spp.and so that take part of a mechanical transition of several organisms which cause diseases to humans and livestock animals in North and South America (Bram et al., 2002;Hall and Gerhardt, 2009).http://dx.doi.org/10.26842/binhm.7.2018.15.2.0113The oriental eye fly Siphunculina funicola Meijere, 1905 is a nuisance to humans and domestic animals which feed on various secretions including eye secretions, mucus membrane, and other moist surfaces of their hosts and carry and transmit fatal pathogens like fungi, viruses and bacteria to humans and other hosts.The eye flies are found aggregating on many hanging substrates like strings, electrical lines and wires, ropes, nest trailing, decorators, cobwebs, clothes hangers, cotton threats which as their medical and forensic importance (Sathe et al., 2014); also there are some chloropid flies as parasites of amphibians (frogs) Crinia signifera by Batrachomyia sp.(Lemckert, 2000).
The adult of Chloropidae diagnosis by many features such as: small 1-5 mm rarely eight millimeters in length, variable in colors (black, blackish-grayish and bright yellow and black with vittae; head is somewhat angular; ocellar triangular large and conspicuous, shining, postvertical bristles converging, parallel or absent; vibrissae reduced or absent; antennae project and prominent with arista located at basal, dorsal and scarcely terminal, bare, plumose or pubescent.Subcostal vein incomplete, costa broken at near the end of first radial vein (R1); second discal cell and basal cell are united, vein Cu1a slightly sinuate and anal cell wanting.The previous are characters accepted by the authors: Essig (1947), Comstock (1948), Mc Alpine(1958), Curran (1965), Cole (1969), Borror and White (1970), Oldroyd (1970), Unwin (1981), Scudder and Cannings (2006).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Many specimens of grass flies were collected by sweeping net in various habitats from several regions of Iraq during 2017.Then the flies were killed by freezing for 24 hours; the specimens mounted with insect pins and kept in insect collection boxes till diagnosed.
The specimens were compared with previously identified specimens which had been diagnosed and stored at Department of Entomology and Invertebrates, Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum, University of Baghdad.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this study the survey showed four species, four genera and one unidentified species that belong to the genus Elachiptera Macquart belonging to two subfamilies Chloropinae and Oscinellinae.The key to identify of subfamilies and genera was constructed, the global distribution of each species was shown in this investigation.

Key to subfamilies and genera of Chloropidae in this study :
1-Costa ending between the apices of R4+5 and M1+2; vertical bristles weak or absent.
First basal cell scarcely wider at middle than end.