 | This is an essay on article content. It contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more WikiProjects on how the content policies may be interpreted within their area of interest. This information is not a formal Wikipedia policy or guideline, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. |
A suggested format for articles on species of Diptera is given below. All entries need not have all categories, but present sections should fall in this order. Extra categories are acceptable so long as they are relevant and in logical order.
Taxobox: The {{Taxobox}} template (which appears top right in the article) is a standardized summary of information for species, with a photograph with the appropriate license, information on its systematics, distribution and conservation status.
- Lead section: This is the most important section of an article since many people will not read further and will use this paragraph to decide whether the piece is worth reading. It will summarize the article overall, emphasizing the important or novel aspects of this particular species, and mentioning any controversies. It should make it clear why this organism is important. Anything mentioned here should be covered in more detail in the rest of the piece. This section is usually one to four paragraphs.
- Description: Physical and behavioral characteristics that make this species different from its close relatives.
- Distribution: Geographic distribution of the species.
- Habitat: The type of environment the species lives in.
- Home range and territoriality: Male defense of places likely to attract females. Home range of the organism. Genetic population structure
- Life history: Information about egg, larval instars, pupa and adult stages.
- Food resources: Larval diet ( e.g plants, carrion, waste, parasitic larva, plant/animal defense to larval feeding). Adult diet (e.g. nectar, feces, urine, corpses, tree sap, honey dew, pollen, blood meal). Pollination due to foraging.
- Mating : Mate searching behavior. Male/male interactions (lekking, displaying, aggression). Female/male interactions (pheromones, mate choice, courting, copulation, number of mates, nuptial gifts)
- Parental Care: Oviposition. Egg guarding. Site selection for egg laying.
- Social behavior: Larval sociality ( e.g gregariousness). Adult sociality
- Enemies: Predators. Parasites. Diseases. Immunity
- Protective coloration/Mimicry: Cryptic and mimicking color and behavior. Batesian mimicry. Mullerian mimicry.
- Genetics: Subspecies. Hybridization. Genomes.
- Physiology: Flight. Vision (Photoreceptors, Color Vision, Eye sexual dimorphism). Olfaction. Gustation. Hearing ( Sound generation, Sound organs). Thermosensation. Thermoregulation. Digestion.
- Microbiome: Gut microbiome. Specialized bacteria not in gut.
- Mutualism: With plants, animals, microbes
- Interactions with humans: agricultural use, crop plant pollination, pest of crop plants, pest of forests, pest of beneficial insects, citizen science, beauty and art
- Conservation: Habitat loss. Conservation efforts. Organism as a measure of ecosystem health.