Two new species of insects have been identified for the first time in Romania near the Black Sea coast.
The 3-millimeter flies which live near humans are an invasive species that were found in Agigea Marine Dunes.
The other species of fly was discovered relatively recently in Greece, News.ro reported.
Specialists from the”Prof. Dr. Ioan Borcea” Marine Biological Station in Agigea said researchers there, in collaboration with two specialists from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, recently published a paper in which they report the presence of two species of tiny flies for the first time in Romania.
“In English they are known to the general public as ‘moth flies’, suggesting that they resemble night-time butterflies. As they haven’t really been studied in Romania, the two species don’t yet have a popular name, but are known by their scientific names… Clogmia albipunctata and Atrichobrunettia graeca “, a press release said.
The cited source mentions that Clogmia albipunctata is an invasive species and is synanthropic, meaning it lives near humans.
Specialists say that most homes have been visited by this species which like damp conditions, like bathrooms.
“As the study of these small insects requires experience and a detailed examination of the specimens under a microscope, they have barely been studied in our country. This explains why only now the species is officially reported from Romania, in a scientific paper, although they have probably been around for several years.”
Atrichobrunettia graeca is a rare species. As its scientific name implies, it was discovered for science for the first time in Greece in 1993. It has been spotted in Greece, Albania, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Ireland, and more recently in Romania in the Agigea Marine Dunes nature reservation.
The larvae of these flies are important elements in the food chain, being decomposers of dead organic matter especially in areas with moisture. Both the larvae and adults are a source of food for other living things,” the release said.
The Agigea reservation is open daily between 08.00 – 18.00.
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