Diptera (Hexapoda) diversity in the Shivapuri Mountain Range, Nepal—a rather unexpected Oriental fauna above 1,800 m

Authors: AMORIUM, DALTON DE SOUZA - Universidad De Sao Paulo; BROWN, BRIAN - Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles County; ANG, YUCHEN - Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles County; BALBI, MARIA-ISABEL - National University Of Singapore; BATHARAI, SHIVA - Tribhuvan University; ALE-ROCHA, ROSALY - Instituto Nacional De Pesquisas Da Amazonia (INPA); CAPELLARI, RENATO - Universidad De Sao Paulo; CARMO, DANIEL - Universidad De Sao Paulo; CARVALHO, CLAUDIO - Universidade Federal Do Parana; COURI, MARCIA - Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro; FACHIN, DIEGO - Federal University Of Goias; FLORES, HELOISA - Universidad De Sao Paulo; GOMES, MARINA - Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro; KORNEYEV, VALERY - National Academy Of Sciences Of Ukraine; LONSDALE, 0. - Canadian National Collection Of Insects & Ottawa Plant Laboratory, Entomology; MARINHO, MARCO - Universidade Federal De Pelotas; MENGUAL, XIMO - Zoological Research Museum Alexnder Koenig; Norrbom, Allen; OTT, TAIS, MADEIRA - State University Of Campinas; RAFAEL, JOSE, ALBERTINO - Instituto Nacional De Pesquisas Da Amazonia (INPA); RICCARDI, PAULO - Museum Of Naturkunde; RUNG, ALESSANDRA - California Department Of Food And Agriculture; SANTOS, JOSENILSON - Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro; SEPULVEDA, TATIANA - Universidade Federal Do Parana; SKEVINGTON, JEFFREY - Canadian National Collection Of Insects & Ottawa Plant Laboratory, Entomology; STUKE, JENS-HERMANN - University Of Bremen; SILVA, VERA - Universidad De Sao Paulo

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Biodiversity
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/28/2025
Publication Date: 6/4/2025
Citation: Amorium, D., Brown, B.V., Ang, Y., Balbi, M.P., Batharai, S.S., Ale-Rocha, R., Capellari, R.S., Carmo, D.D., Carvalho, C.J., Couri, M.S., Fachin, D.A., Flores, H.A., Gomes, M., Korneyev, V., Lonsdale, 0., Marinho, M.A., Mengual, X., Norrbom, A.L., Ott, T., Rafael, J., Riccardi, P.R., Rung, A., Santos, J., Sepulveda, T.A., Skevington, J.H., Stuke, J., Silva, V.C. 2025. Diptera (Hexapoda) diversity in the Shivapuri Mountain Range, Nepal—a rather unexpected Oriental fauna above 1,800 m. Journal of Insect Biodiversity. 66(1):1-43. https://doi.org/10.12976/jib/2025.66.1.1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12976/jib/2025.66.1.1

Interpretive Summary: Flies associated with agriculture can be beneficial as pollinators or by decomposing organic matter to make it available to growing crops. Other kinds of flies can be pests that spread disease or directly damage crops. When flies are found associated with crop damage or disease, it is important to correctly identify the flies to know if they are causing the problem. This manuscript reports the multitude of flies that were collected at a site in Nepal, a poorly studied area. The new knowledge of the distributions of these flies will be useful to biologists, ecologists and regulatory agencies responsible for managing natural areas and preventing the spread of pest species.

Technical Abstract: The Diptera fauna of a small area in Samundradevi, north of Kathmandu, at 1,890 m, was sampled during an expedition, resulting in records of 54 families, of which 176 genera could be recognized. These are the first records for Nepal of 12 fly families—Anisopodidae, Diadocidiidae, Neriidae, Lonchaeidae, Platystomatidae, Piophilidae, Strongylophthalmidae, Diopsidae, Anthomyzidae, Clusiidae, Camillidae, and Stenomicridae—and 86 genera. Our samples from Samundradevi are dominated by Oriental Region elements—while sites with similar altitude in Nepal or much more to the south in Asia have a higher proportion of typically Palearctic components. The possibly complete or nearly complete ice coverage of the Shivapuri Mountain Range during the last glaciation cycle may have entirely wiped out the fauna and flora, that would have been replaced more recently by the surrounding Oriental elements.