Characters for Identifying Common Families of Diptera1 Brachycera Stratiomyidae: Often patterned yellow and black, not bristly, but often with short dense pile (e.g., Odontomyia). Hexagonal cell in wing (cell d or dm); R4 and R5 end well before wing tip. Larvae are either aquatic (Stratiomyinae) or terrestrial (other subfamilies); larvae have deposits of calcium carbonate plates in the cuticle. Larvae are scavengers in decaying plant and animal material; some are predaceous or feed on root of grasses. Adults are found feeding on flowers, especially on willow, hawthorn, composites, and umbels, or resting on vegetation. Tabanidae: Antennal flagellum of distinctive shape and form, with large basal portion and terminal annulations. Head hemispherical. R4 and R5 “enclose” wing tip. Females of most species feed on blood of mammals and birds, but some feed on cold-blooded vertebrates; nonhematophagous species and males visit flowers. Some are important vectors of disease, including various bacterial, rickettsial, viral, and protozoan, and filarial diseases such as anthrax, tularemia, trypanosomiasis, filariasis. Transmission is usually mechanical. Fortunately in North America disease transmission by tabanids is absent. Larvae are aquatic or found in moist wetland soil, they are predaceous. Rhagionidae (snipe flies): Drab, with yellow or orange markings, without bristles, but with thin pile. 3rd antennal segment rounded, with long slender style; d or dm cell large, situated near center of wing. Some have patterned wings. 1 Images UMSP, www.diptera.info, Wikimedia Commons !1 Larvae are presumed to be predators and are found in rich organic soil, but food habits of adults are largely unknown. Asilidae: Top of head hollowed out between eyes. Body varies from very hairy to nearly hairless and robust to slender, but face is usually bearded. Males and females are rapacious predators of other insects, including bees and wasps (Laphria, the “bee catchers"). They are usually found in open sunny areas. Larvae are poorly known and live in soil and rotting wood. Bombyliidae: Hairy, bee-like; often with very long proboscis. R2+3 and R4 often sinuate. Adults are commonly seen hovering near flowers where they feed on nectar. Larvae are poorly known, but those studied are parasitic on immature Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Neuroptera or prey on grasshopper egg pods. Empididae (dance flies): Common, but difficult to characterize. Usually slender and long legged, the legs often modified for predation (raptorial or semi-raptorial). Proboscis usually elongate (also for predation). 3rd antennal segment usually rounded, with a long terminal style. r-m cross vein located beyond basal 1/4 of wing. Larvae are aquatic or terrestrial and little is known about their biology. Terrestrial species have been recorded in dung, soil, leaf litter, rotten wood, owl's nests, roots, and fungi. Aquatic species occur is aquatic mosses in flowing water or in thin surface films; they feed on simuliid larvae. Some larvae attack caddisfly pupae. Adults are also predaceous on swarming Diptera, emerging aquatic insects, including mosquitoes and blackflies, or insects trapped in spider's webs. Males present captured prey to females in ritualized courtship behaviors. !2 Dolichopodidae: Usually metallic green or coppery. Male genitalia folded under abdomen. Male often with modified foretarsal segments. Adults and most larvae are predaceous; some species prey on mosquito larvae. Most species are sensitive to cold and only appear in late spring or summer. Lonchopteridae (spear-winged flies): Wings long and pointed with characteristic venation: R2+3 and R4+5 long and straight with their apices converging at wing tip; few crossveins. These are very common flies, but little is known about their biology. Larvae occur in leaf litter and plant detritus. Adults are common on riparian vegetation, woodlands, meadows and other humid habitats. Adults probably feed on nectar. Phoridae (humpbacked flies): Very distinctive. Often humpbacked. Major bristles characteristically feathered. Wing venation very characteristic, anterior veins thick, usually short, crowded forward, remaining 4 veins (M1, M2, CuA1, A1+CuA2) thin and weak. Hind femur may be enlarged. Adults and larvae are associated with decaying plant and animal material, including human corpses, carion, flowers, seeds, bird and mammal nests, wasp, bee, ant, and termite nests, fungi, etc. Some are endoparasites of insects and spiders, others are associated with snails, and some are involved in myiasis. Adults are very active, with quick, jerky movements. Pipunculidae (big-headed flies): Globose compound eyes covering almost entire head. Larval big-head flies are endoparasites of leafhoppers and planthoppers, especially Cicadellidae and Delphacidae, but little is known of their biology. Females hover over vegetation and snatch up immature leafhoppers. While in flight they insert their eggs between the abdominal membranes of the host. The larvae grow to fill their host. !3 Syrphidae: Wing with spurious vein. R5 cell (and frequently M2) closed. Many are mimics of Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) and may appear similar to bombyliid flies. Very common and abundant. Most species hover and visit flowers, making them significant pollinators of plants. Larval biology is diverse and includes species that live in ant nests, predators of aphids and other homopterous pests, fungal and detrital feeders, scavengers in the nests of social Hymenoptera, those living in dung and rotting vegetation, aquatic species found in tree holes or very enriched waters, with other aquatic species are found in clean water; a few species cause intestinal myiasis in humans. Conopidae (thick-headed flies): Proboscis long, slender. Abdomen usually narrowed at base. Body shape and color characteristic, strongly resembling solitary wasps. Larvae are endoparasites of bees and wasps or of cockroaches and calyptrate Diptera. Females attack their prey in flight. Adults take nectar through their long proboscis while hovering at flowers, particularly members of the mint family. Micropezidae (stilt-legged flies): Legs long and stiltlike. R5 cell (formed by R4+5 and M1+2) narrowed or closed apically. Body shape characteristic; terminalia of both sexes turned downward and forward. Larvae feed on roots, decaying vegetation, and dung. Adults are usually found in moist habitats. !4 Diopsidae (stalk-eyed flies): Stalklike process bearing eyes on sides of head. Antennae widely separated; scutellum with two stout tubercles. Sphracephala brevicornis is the only North American species. Adults hibernate and emerge in the early spring. Larve feed on rotting organic material. In Minnesota they are often associated with skunk cabbage (P. Clausen, pers. com.) Ulidiidae (picture-winged flies) : Some are metallic green, small. Wings often banded or patterned. Sc slightly curved at tip. Anal cell cup usually with an acute distal extension posteriorly. Biology is little known. Adults are frequently found in moist areas. Larvae are associated with decaying vegetation, manure, or under bark, where they are mostly saprophagous. Pyrgotidae (pyrgotid flies): Head large and rounded, no ocelli in Nearctic species. Legs usually long. Wings usually strongly patterned with bands, bars, or spots. Larvae are endoparasites of adult scarab beetles. Females oviposit at night on their hosts while both are in flight. They can be important beneficial insects in controlling June beetles and other pest scarabs. !5 Tephritidae (fruit flies) : Wings often spotted or banded; may also be solid brown. Often brightly colored. Sc bent abruptly forward. Anal cell often with acute distal extension posteriorly. Larvae feed on living plant tissue, including leaves, roots, stems, fruits, etc., some are leaf miners or gall formers, including goldenrod stem galls. Many are important pests of commercial plants, including the apple maggot and the med fly, or are useful as biocontrol agents of weeds. Adults are common and found on flowers and vegetation. Sepsidae (black scavenger flies): Small, usually shining black or dark purplish. Head rounded and abdomen usually narrowed at base (characteristic body shape - body somewhat antlike). Usually with a dark spot at wing tip. Forelegs of males modified for grasping females. (Photo: diptera.info) Sepsid larvae occur most commonly in dung and excrement, but are also found in decaying animal and plant matter. Adults flip their wings outward when walking. Sciomyzidae (marsh flies): Brownish-yellowish, with patterned wings. Antennae generally project foreward, often long. Femora well developed with characteristic seta. Larvae are exclusively associated with freshwater and terrestrial snails, or slugs and fingernail clams. They feed on snails as predators, parasitoids, or scavengers. Females search out snails for oviposition. !6 Sphaeroceridae (small dung flies): Small, dark-colored flies. First tarsal segment of hind leg short, thick, second somewhat widened and longer. (Photos: diptera.info) Very common and abundant flies, associated with all types of decaying organic matter, including dung, carrion, rotting seaweed, mammal nests, fungi, etc., - even the dung balls of dung beetles! Anthomyzidae: Small, slender. Fore femur with a strong ctenidial spine. Wing venation: with subcostal break only; cells bm and dm weakly separated; cup present; A1 straight, strong, not reaching wing margin. These are abundant flies, often found in grassy marshes, where their larvae feed in grass and sedge stems. Agromyzidae (leaf-miner flies):