Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis NatureServe Explorer Species Reports — NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.
FWS Digital Media Library — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video. The Delhi Sands flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis) is a mydid fly in the genus Rhaphiomidas, and was the first fly added to the Endangered Species List in the United States. This subspecies is restricted to the Delhi Sand Dunes formation, an area of ancient inland dunes. Originally, the habitat area consisted of about 40 square miles (100 km ). However, only a few hundred acres, or about 2% of the original habitat area remains undeveloped The rest largely now form much or all of the foundation on which the towns of Colton, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Rialto, and Ontario, California are built. The adult flies are only active for a few weeks each year, feeding on flowers, in June, July, August and September. This fly was emergency-listed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on September 23, 1993, and it has been an extremely contentious listing ever since. Political officials and news services from the region have repeatedly decried this fly as a disease-carrying pest, despite documentation that it is not.
