I found these insects yesterday that were feeding on a guava that I left outside for days. We have a tropical climate here (Mauritius). These insects are about 1 cm long. They have a white abdomen, brown wings, 6 long legs and they have segmented bodies divided into three regions: head, thorax and abdomen. Can someone help to identify them. Thank you in advance.
3 Answers
This is a species of the fly family Neriidae. They are actually acalyptrates, not nematocerans like crane flies and sciarids. I have collected and observed species of this family many times. They are very distinctive. Here are some photos for comparison - https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/132101-Neriidae.
The picture isn't really focused on the insects. I think those are Crane Flies. Crane flies have small club like appendages under their wings called halteres,which are used for steering in flight.I dont know the genus or species of these insects. The order is Diptera, the family is Tipulidae. Here are two links. [https://www.orkincanada.ca/pests/flies/crane-flies/ [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_fly
The picture isn't very clear, as the other answer says, so it is hard to give a definite answer. It is definitely a fly though (Diptera). Due to the size, shape and dark wings I think that the familj Sciaridae (dark-winged fungus gnat) is more likely than a Crane fly though, which is suggested in the other answer. They are also common to find on fruit (as are many flies though). The familj has about 2200 species.
Googling Sciaridae brown wings can give you a sense of what they look like, e.g.:
(picture from http://peipestcontrol.com/)