Egg morphology of Dioctria (Insecta: Diptera: Asilidae) species known in Turkey

The egg structures of eight Dioctria species known in Turkey, i.e., D. abdominalis, D. arcana, D. cornuta, D. flavipennis, D. hermonensis, D. linearis, D. sudetica, D. valida were examined and described in detail, using the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The material was collected from various habitats such as watersides, forest areas and crop fields within Adana, Aksaray, Mersin, Nigde, Karaman and Konya provinces between 2006 and 2007. Dioctria eggs are characterized as: 1) ovoid in shape and brown in color; 2) operculum at the anterior pole of the egg; 3) one or two micropyles at the center of the operculum; 4) aeropyles scattered in the body region and operculum or only in the former. The eggs were photographed to provide useful information to the systematics of Dioctria genus.