LAUSR

* Correspondence: [email protected] The species of the small family Cryptochetidae are little known (McAlpine, 1987; Pitkin, 1989; Nartshuk, 2000). Most of its representatives are know from the Old World tropics as 30 described species in the genus Cryptochetum have been described from the Old World (the relegation of the genus Librella McAlpine, 1976 to Cryptochetidae is rather questionable). Cryptochetidae is a family of the higher flies, ptilinal suture and lunule present (being a family of Muscomorpha); eye very large and pubescent (consequently gena very narrow); ocelli present, first flagellomere large, arista not developed; proboscis and palpus short; scutellum large, convex, scutellar setae mostly not developed but scutellar surface short setose; greater ampulla not developed, lower calypter very small; coxae of fore and mid legs not widely separated; tarsal claws simple, legs without characteristic setae. Good characterizations for the family were given by Hennig (1937), McAlpine (1987), and Nartshuk (2000). McAlpine (1989) classified them as a family of the superfamily Carnoidea, which we think is correct (see also Griffiths, 1972). The larvae of cryptochetids are parasitoids (endoparasitic) of various scale insects of the subfamily Monophelebinae (Coccidae: Margarodidae) (Thorpe, 1930, 1934, 1941a, 1941b; Menon, 1950; Foote and Arnaud, 1958; Mendel et al., 1998, etc.), both as solitary and gregarious parasites. Larvae of some species are well known (Hennig, 1937; Cahadia, 1984, etc.). In the Palearctic Region the following six species are known (Nartshuk, 1984, 2000): Cryptochetum buccatum Hendel, 1933 Cryptochetum grandicorne Rondani, 1875 Cryptochetum jorgepastori (Cadahia, 1984) Cryptochetum mineuri Séguy, 1953 Cryptochetum smaragdinum Séguy, 1948 Cryptochetum turanicum Nartshuk, 1979 The emergence of another widely distributed and frequently introduced species, Cryptochetum (Lestophonus) iceryae (Williston, 1888), introduced also to the New World (McAlpine, 1987), should be taken into consideration when working on cryptochetid material from the Palearctic region. We do not list here Cryptochetum species from China and Japan; rather, we refer to the book chapter of Yang and Yang (1998: 97) and to the paper of Yuqiang and Yang (2015). Together with the species of Cryptochetum ghanii Steyskal, 1971 (p. 48), which was omitted from the catalog, and including the recently described species, a total of 30+ species have been described hitherto. The cryptochetids are mostly seldom collected; Foote and Arnaud (1958) witnessed one of the few exceptions. Twenty specimens are preserved in the Collection of the Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague (Czech Republic, below CULSP), including the specimens from Turkey in the present paper. Ninety-seven cryptochetid specimens are preserved in the Diptera Collection, Hungarian Natural History Museum (Budapest) (below HNHM). Cryptochetum grandicorne Rondani, 1875 Known from its type locality (vicinity of Parma, Italy), some other localities in Italy (Süss, 1984), from France, Abstract: The first record of the family Cryptochetidae is given from Turkey. Cryptochetum grandicorne and C. jorgepastori were found in Turkey. Four original figures are presented.