One of the newly found scuttle fly species, Megaselia stoakesi. Photo by Kelsey Bailey. CC-BY 4.0.

“The remarkable diversity of biologies of these flies makes them a varied and essential group to document in any ecosystem,” said the authors in a news release. “There is an enormous taxonomic deficiency, including, or, perhaps, especially, in rapidly changing urban environments. Taxonomists and their funding agencies must give time, attention, and money to the environments surrounding their towns and cities. Baseline collections of urban fauna must be established in the present if there is hope for understanding the introductions and extinctions that will occur in the future.”

Their research was part of BioSCAN, which is devoted to exploring the insect diversity in and around the city.

Read more at:

– Flies from L.A., The Sequel: A further twelve new species of Megaselia (Diptera: Phoridae) from the BioSCAN Project in Los Angeles (California, USA)