Posted by David_Asteraki on 23-04-2007 12:53
#1
Sorry for basic query but, for homework, my 9-year-old daughter has to find out how many flies there are in the world. Anyone got any ideas? I have been trying most of the morning to find a website with this information. My guess is it must be in the hundreds of trillions.
Posted by jorgemotalmeida on 23-04-2007 13:32
#2
I think it is impossible to give a number, even any estimate would be an heroic or crazy task. :) We even don?t know all families. :) There are areas in the world we have no knowledge concerning dipters. :)
Posted by Paul Beuk on 23-04-2007 13:35
#3
See
http://en.wikiped...ki/Diptera for any estimate of the number of species. Of course, the question could also be interpreted as how many individuals there are, but that would amount into something with more zeros that we can imagine, and that would be a rather non-sensical question.
Posted by Xespok on 23-04-2007 13:46
#5
I think it is safe to say that number of dipteran species is in the 1oo.ooos. More than 1oo.ooo species have been described if I am not mistaken (though I could not give you a reference)
Among Arthropods the beetles are the largest group and the second place goes to....
well it is one of the following: Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera.
I think currently the second place are held by Lepidoptera species, followed by Diptera and than Hymenoptera as far as the described number of species go. But since the various groups are studied and described with various intensity, my gut feeling is that in the long run Hymenoptera will become nr.2, Diptera nr.3 and Lepidoptera will fall back to the 4th position.