Flies couple making love on the green leaf cover photo - 260122707

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flies couple making love on the green leafAs ubiquitous insects, dipterans play an important role at various trophic levels both as consumers and as prey. In some groups the larvae complete their development without feeding, and in others the adults do not feed. The larvae can be herbivores, scavengers, decomposers, predators or parasites, with the consumption of decaying organic matter being one of the most prevalent feeding behaviours. The fruit or detritus is consumed along with the associated micro-organisms, a sieve-like filter in the pharynx being used to concentrate the particles, while flesh-eating larvae have mouth-hooks to help shred their food. The larvae of some groups feed on or in the living tissues of plants and fungi, and some of these are serious pests of agricultural crops. Some aquatic larvae consume the films of algae that form underwater on rocks and plants. Many of the parasitoid larvae grow inside and eventually kill other arthropods, while parasitic larvae may attack vertebrate hosts

adults agricultural algae aquatic arthropods associated attack behaviours complete consume consumed consumers consumption couple crops decaying decomposers detritus development dipterans feed feeding films filter flesh eating flies food form fungi green groups grow help herbivores important insects inside larvae leaf leafas levels living love macro making may micro organisms mouth hooks parasites parasitic parasitoid particles pests pharynx plants play predators prevalent prey rep rocks role scavengers serious shred sieve like tissues trophic ubiquitous underwater vertebrate