Diptera Dwelling Aquatic and Terrestrial Habitats in an Alpine Floodplain (Amola Glacier, Italian Alps)

Among flying insects, Diptera were the main visitors and colonisers of aquatic and terrestrial habitats in an Alpine glacial floodplain (NE Italy) at 2400 m a.s.l. In all, 4317 dipteran adults were collected using different collection techniques in, on, and out of the water: pond and drift nets, and emergence and Malaise traps, with a different periodicity: biweekly and every three hours for four consecutive days, in early and late summer 2015. Thirty-eight families in all, and 56 species within seven Brachycera families, were identified. Specifically, Chironomidae (36%) within Nematocera and Empidoidea families (23%), and Muscidae (9%) within Brachycera, prevailed. Chironomidae seemed to emerge and fly mainly in late morning-early afternoon, while most Brachycera were more active in late afternoon. Some ecological notes are given for seven Brachycera families, including Muscidae as the predominant family of anthophilous dipterans and the most efficient pollinators in mountain habitats and in the deglaciated areas of the proglacial forelands. Three genera of Muscidae were found as the main representatives of these environments: <i>Thricops</i> Rondani, <i>Spilogona</i> Schnabl, and <i>Phaonia</i> Robineau-Desvoidy). Among these genera, noteworthy was the finding of <i>Spilogona triangulifera</i> (Zetterstedt) as being new to the Italian fauna.