House flies (Muscidae) comprise the most species-rich family of the muscoid grade with over 5000 described species worldwide, and they are abundant in various terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The high number of species, varied appearances, complex feeding habits, and wide distributions have hindered researchers from understanding their phylogeny and evolutionary history. Here, we newly sequenced fifteen mitochondrial genomes and reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships and divergence time among eight subfamilies of Muscidae (Diptera). The best phylogenetic tree, which was inferred by IQ-Tree, recovered the monophyly for seven out of eight subfamilies (except for Mydaeinae). Based on phylogenetic analyses and morphological characteristics, we prefer the subfamily status of Azeliinae and Reinwardtiinae, and separate Stomoxyinae from Muscinae. Genus Helina Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 was synonymized with Phaonia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830. The divergence time estimation indicated Muscidae originated at 51.59 Ma (early Eocene). Most subfamilies had originated around 41 Ma. We provided a mtgenomic viewpoint on the phylogenetic relationships and divergence time estimation of Muscidae.

Luprops orientalis (Motschulsky, 1868) is an economically important pest in traditional Chinese medicines, widely distributed in East Asia. However, the primary limiting factors affecting its distribution, potential suitable areas, as well as its response to global warming, remain largely unknown. Utilizing 295 filtered distribution points and 10 environmental variables (9 climate variables and 1 land cover type), this study uses the MaxEnt model to predict the potential distribution of L. orientalis under near-current and future environmental change scenarios. The results indicated that precipitation of the warmest quarter (bio18), temperature seasonality (bio04), and precipitation of the wettest month (bio13) were the most significant environmental variables affecting the distribution of suitable habitats for L. orientalis, while the contribution of average variation in daytime temperature (bio2) was the smallest. Under the near-current climate, the areas of low, moderate, and high suitability for L. orientalis are approximately 1.02 × 10⁶ km², 1.65 × 10⁶ km², and 8.22 × 10⁵ km², respectively. The suitable areas are primarily located in North China, Central China, the Korean Peninsula, and Central and Southern Japan. Under future climate conditions, the potential suitable areas are expected to expand significantly, especially in Central China. However, the high-suitability areas in North China are predicted to experience a slight reduction. With the increase in carbon emission concentrations, the suitable area shows an increasing trend in the 2050s, followed by a declining trend in the 2090s. The centroids of suitable areas will shift to the northeast in the future. These findings enhance our understanding of how climate change affects the distribution of L. orientalis and will assist governments in formulating effective pest control strategies, including widespread monitoring and stringent quarantine measures.

Trachypteris picta (Pallas, 1773) is a significant pest that can cause serious damage to poplars and willows. To assess the impact of climate change on the suitable habitats of T. picta, this study conducted a comparative analysis of its global suitable habitats using climatic factors, global land use type, and global vegetation from different periods, in combination with the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model. The results indicate that the annual mean temperature (Bio01), mean temperature of the coldest quarter (Bio11), precipitation of the coldest quarter (Bio19), and isothermality (Bio03) are the four most important climate variables determining the distribution of T. picta. Under the current climate conditions, the highly suitable areas are primarily located in southern Europe, covering an area of 2.22 × 10⁶ km². Under future climate scenarios, the suitable habitat for T. picta is expected to expand and shift towards higher latitudes. In the 2050s, the SSP5-8.5 scenario has the largest suitable area compared to other scenarios, while the SSP2-4.5 scenario has the largest suitable area in the 2090s. In addition, the centroids of the total suitable areas are expected to shift toward higher latitudes under future climate conditions. The results of this study provide valuable data for the monitoring, control, and management of this pest.

To enhance our understanding of the phylogenetics and evolutionary processes within Dacinae, we sequenced and analyzed four complete mitogenomes for the first time, specifically Acroceratitis separata, Acrotaeniostola quadrivittata, Gastrozona parviseta, and Paragastrozona vulgaris, which represent Gastrozonini species. Our results indicated that these four mitogenomes, including A. separata, A. quadrivittata, G. parviseta, and P. vulgaris, comprised 37 mitochondrial genes and an A+T-control region, with a total length of 16,603 bp, 16,112 bp, 16,691 bp, and 16,594 bp, revealing a notably high AT content reaching 77.4%, 78.4%, 75.1%, and 75.1%, respectively. Our phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference and Maximum Likelihood methods under site-homogeneous models consistently demonstrated their superiority over the site-heterogeneous mixture model CAT + GTR, given the currently accepted phylogenetic framework. Apart from a few species demonstrating unstable placements, the inferred phylogenetic relationships among the three tribes were strongly supported as monophyletic groups, with the topology represented as ((Ceratitidini + Gastrozonini) + Dacini), and most branches displaying moderate-to-high support values, of which four newly sequenced mitogenomes and A. dissimilis robustly formed a single clade representing Gastrozonini. This study substantially augments the existing mitogenome data, thereby providing more profound insight into the evolutionary history and higher-level phylogenetic structure within the Dacinae.

Empis (Coptophlebia) hyalipennis group is reported from Yunnan for the first time with the following four new species: Empis (Coptophlebia) angularissp. nov., Empis (Coptophlebia) biluoxueshanasp. nov., Empis (Coptophlebia) bisetasp. nov., and Empis (Coptophlebia) wangisp. nov. A key is presented to separate these species.