Ephydridae: Shore Flies of Hawai'i IV

This cosmopolitan family of flies are very small, ranging from 0.9 to 7.0 mm in size. Morphologically, they are gray or black with patterned wings. As their common name implies, Ephydridae flies are aquatic or semi-aquatic, inhabiting a variety of wetland and seashore habitats, including alkaline lakes, salt and petroleum pools, hot springs and marshes. These ecologically diverse flies frequent coastlines and aquatic vegetation. Many larvae feed on aquatic plants and algae, while some are predatory (i.e. Trimerina genus). Due to this feeding behavior, some phytophagous species can cause damage to agricultural crops. On the other hand, some larvae and adults serve as an important food source for other animals, such as migratory birds. As adults, they exhibit similar feeding habits, feeding on algae, plants and bacteria. In Hawai'i, a majority of our native ephydrids are of the genus Scatella. This genus is widespread throughout the Pacific basin (Western Samoa, French Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawai'i) and encompasses 135 species, 17 of which are Hawaiian and 15 that are endemic.  Please help transcribe the UHIM's shore flies collection in order to better help us understand their distribution and impact in Hawai'i.This expedition of 586 tasks is fully transcribed and validated.

这个世界性分布的蝇类家族体型微小，体长范围为0.9至7.0毫米。形态学特征上，它们呈灰色或黑色，翅膀带有斑纹。正如其俗名所示，水蝇科（Ephydridae）蝇类为水生或半水生生物，栖息于各类湿地与海滨环境，包括碱性湖泊、盐池、石油池、温泉及沼泽。这些生态多样性丰富的蝇类常出没于海岸线及水生植被区。多数幼虫以水生植物和藻类为食，部分则为捕食性（如*Trimerina*属）。由于这种取食行为，部分植食性种类会对农作物造成损害。另一方面，部分幼虫及成虫是其他动物（如候鸟）的重要食物来源。在夏威夷，本地水蝇科物种多属于*Scatella*属。该属广泛分布于太平洋盆地（西萨摩亚、法属波利尼西亚、澳大利亚、新西兰、复活节岛及夏威夷），包含135个物种，其中17种分布于夏威夷，15种为特有种。请协助转录UHIM的岸蝇标本收藏，以助力我们更好地了解其在夏威夷的分布及影响。本次包含586项任务的考察已完成全部转录与验证工作。