Fore tarsus attachment device of the male scuttle fly, Aenigmatias lubbockii

The fore tarsus of the male scuttle fly, Aenigmatias lubbockii (Verrall) (Diptera: Phoridae), is broad and equipped with flattened and apically truncated (FAT) setae on the ventral surface, which are suggested to be involved in the intraspecific phoretic behaviour including airlifting and dispersal of the female. The combination of FAT setae on the male fore tarsi and regularly arranged microtrichia on the female thoracic surfaces is suggested to form a combination of an adhesive structure and possibly a fastener system. Comparisons are made to Puliciphora borinquenensis (Wheeler), which also has apterous females and male-facilitated female dispersal, but where fore tarsal FAT setae are absent.