Harold Oldroyd (24 December 1913 – 3 September 1978) was a British entomologist. He specialised in the biology of flies, and wrote many books, especially popular science that helped entomology to reach a broader public. His The Natural History of Flies is considered to be the "fly Bible". Although his speciality was the Diptera, he acknowledged that they are not a popular topic: "Breeding in dung, carrion, sewage and even living flesh, flies are a subject of disgust...not to be discussed in polite society". It was Oldroyd who proposed the idea of hyphenating the names of true flies (Diptera) to distinguish them from other insects with "fly" in their names. Thus, the "house-fly", "crane-fly" and "blow-fly" would be true flies, while the "dragonfly", "scorpion fly" and so on belong to other orders. He also debunked the calculation that a single pair of house-flies, if allowed to reproduce without inhibitions could, within nine months, number 5.6×1012 individuals, enough to cover the Earth to a thickness of 14.3 m (47 ft). Oldroyd calculated that such a layer would only cover Germany, but remarked "that is still a lot of flies".
Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 7,000 described species in about 230 genera. The genus Dolichopus is the most speciose, with some 600 species.
Antyx is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae from the Australasian realm. The genus was originally placed in the subfamily Sympycninae, but it was later found to be closer to the Neurigoninae and was placed as incertae sedis within the family. In the World Catalog of Dolichopodidae by Yang et al. (2006), the new subfamily Antyxinae was proposed, in which Antyx is the only genus. However, the validity of this new subfamily was later criticized by Sinclair et al. (2008). According to them, the subfamily's erection by Yang et al. (2006) was not justified by their phylogenetic analysis, and the genus would have been better placed as incertae sedis until a later phylogenetic study determines its placement.
Austrosciapus is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. It is mainly found in Australia, though some species are also known from New Zealand, French Polynesia, Norfolk Island and the Hawaiian Islands.
Cymatopus is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Dytomyia is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. It is known from Australia, Madagascar and Kenya, with an undescribed species from Papua New Guinea.
Medetera is a large genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Mesorhaga is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Naufraga hexachaeta is a species of fly in the family Dolichopodidae. It is the only member of the genus Naufraga, and is found in New Zealand.
Parentia is a large genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Hydrophorinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. According to Germann et al. (2011), the subfamily is polyphyletic.
Achalcinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. It is an ancestral group close to Medeterinae and Sciapodinae.
Sciapodinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Diaphorinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Medeterinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Peloropeodinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. According to Germann et al. (2011), the subfamily is polyphyletic.
Sympycninae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Sciapodini is a tribe of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.
Pouebo symmetricauda is a species of fly belonging to the family Dolichopodidae. It is the only member of the genus Pouebo, and was described from New Caledonia.
