| Psilidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chamaepsila sp. from Germany | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| (unranked): | Cyclorrhapha |
| Section: | Schizophora |
| Superfamily: | Diopsoidea |
| Family: | Psilidae Macquart, 1835 |
| Subfamily | |
The Psilidae are family of flies. Commonly called the rust flies, at least 38 species are in four genera. The carrot fly (Chamaepsila rosae) is a member of this group. They are found mainly in the Holarctic.
For terms see Morphology of Diptera
These are small or medium-sized (1.5 mm.-10 mm.) flies with slender bodies. They are yellow to reddish, brown or black in colour. The head is spherical with (relatively) small eyes and the face is often slanted backward. The antennae are small, with the third antennal segment conspicuously elongated. The arista has a short or long pubescence. The postvertical bristles are divergent or absent. Ocelli and ocellar bristles are present. Vibrissae are always absent. Up to two pairs of frontal bristles and scattered interfrontal setulae are present. The costa is interrupted at some distance from R1 and only the basal part of the subcosta is developed. The vein bordering the anal cell is straight on the outer side. Crossvein BM-Cu is present and the cell cup is closed. The wing is usually clear to slightly tinged, but in some cases along the costa, the wing tip or the cross-veins there are dark bands. The wing has a transverse weakening in the basal half. Tibiae are without a dorsal preapical bristle. See Description and plates from Francis Walker's Insecta Britannica Diptera.
Psilidae are especially common in cool places on low-density vegetation. This explains why the family is well represented in temperate zones. The larvae are almost exclusively phytophagous on nonwoody plants. They live either in stems, tubers, or roots. A few species live under tree bark. Some form galls. Several species are pests in agriculture and horticulture. Chamaepsila rosae Fabricius, and Psila nigricornis Meigen are instances.
The Conopidae, usually known as the thick-headed flies, are a family of flies within the Brachycera suborder of Diptera, and the sole member of the superfamily Conopoidea. Flies of the family Conopidae are distributed worldwide in all the biogeographic realms except for the poles and many of the Pacific islands. About 800 species in 47 genera are described worldwide, about 70 of which are found in North America. The majority of conopids are black and yellow, or black and white, and often strikingly resemble wasps, bees, or flies of the family Syrphidae, themselves notable bee mimics. A conopid is most frequently found at flowers, feeding on nectar with its proboscis, which is often long.
The Tephritidae are Uruphora one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus Drosophila, which is often called the "common fruit fly". Nearly 5,000 described species of tephritid fruit fly are categorized in almost 500 genera of the Tephritidae. Description, recategorization, and genetic analyses are constantly changing the taxonomy of this family. To distinguish them from the Drosophilidae, the Tephritidae are sometimes called peacock flies, in reference to their elaborate and colorful markings. The name comes from the Greek τεφρος, tephros, meaning "ash grey". They are found in all the biogeographic realms.
Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small insects usually only 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) in length; many are less than 1 mm (0.039 in) long. They are characterised by hairy wings, unusual in the order Diptera, and have long antennae. Some Cecidomyiids are also known for the strange phenomenon of paedogenesis in which the larval stage reproduces without maturing first. In some species, the daughter larvae consume the mother, while in others, reproduction occurs later on in the egg or pupa.
The Micropezidae are a moderate-sized family of acalyptrate muscoid flies in the insect order Diptera, comprising about 500 species in about 50 genera and five subfamilies worldwide,. They are most diverse in tropical and subtropical habitats, especially in the Neotropical Region.
The soldier flies are a family of flies. The family contains over 2,700 species in over 380 extant genera worldwide. Adults are found near larval habitats, which are found in a wide array of locations, mostly in wetlands, damp places in soil, sod, under bark, in animal excrement, and in decaying organic matter. The Stratiomyinae are a different subgroup that tends to have an affinity to aquatic environments. They are diverse in size and shape, though they commonly are partly or wholly metallic green, or somewhat wasplike mimics, marked with black and yellow or green and sometimes metallic. They are often rather inactive flies which typically rest with their wings placed one above the other over the abdomen.
The Agromyzidae are a family commonly referred to as the leaf-miner flies, for the feeding habits of their larvae, most of which are leaf miners on various plants.
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.
The Anisopodidae are a small cosmopolitan family of gnat-like flies known as wood gnats or window-gnats, with 154 described extant species in 15 genera, and several described fossil taxa. Some species are saprophagous or fungivorous. They are mostly small to medium-sized flies, except the genera Olbiogaster and Lobogaster, which are large with bizarrely spatulated abdomens. Their phylogenetic placement is controversial. They have been proposed to be the sister group to the higher flies, the Brachycera. Some authors consider this group to be four distinct families – Anisopodidae, Mycetobiidae, Olbiogastridae, and Valeseguyidae.
The Lauxaniidae are a family of acalyptrate flies. They generally are small flies with large compound eyes that often are brightly coloured in life, sometimes with characteristic horizontal stripes, such as in Cestrotus species. Many species have variegated patterns on their wings, but in contrast they generally do not have variegated bodies, except for genera such as Cestrotus, whose camouflage mimics lichens or the texture of granitic rocks.
The Lonchaeidae are a family of acalyptrate flies commonly known as lance flies. About 500 described species are placed into 9 genera. These are generally small but robustly built flies with blue-black or metallic bodies. They are found, mainly in wooded areas, throughout the world with the exception of polar regions and New Zealand.
Opomyzidae is a family of acalyptrate Diptera. They are generally small, slender, yellow, brown or black coloured flies. The larval food plants are grasses, including cereal crops, the adults are mainly found in open habitats. Some species being agricultural pests.
The Curtotonidae or quasimodo flies are a small family of small grey to dark brown humpbacked flies (Diptera) with a worldwide distribution, but with very few species in the Nearctic, Australasian/Oceanian, and Palaearctic regions. Most members of the family are found in tropical to subtropical latitudes in Africa and the Neotropics. Many remain undescribed in collections, since little work on the family has been done since the 1930s.
Asteiidae is a small but widespread family of acalyptrate flies or Diptera. About 130 species in 10 genera have been described worldwide. They are rarely collected.
The Coelopidae or kelp flies are a family of Acalyptratae flies, they are sometimes also called seaweed flies, though both terms are used for a number of seashore Diptera. Fewer than 40 species occur worldwide. The family is found in temperate areas, with species occurring in the southern Afrotropical, Holarctic, and Australasian regions.
Diastatidae are a family of flies, and are in the order Diptera. They occur primarily in the Holarctic Region, but several species are known from the Oriental, Neotropical, and Australasian regions. Members of the family number over 20 described species in three genera. There is an additional fossil genus.
Pallopteridae is a family of flies. The various species are collectively called flutter-wing flies, trembling-wing, or waving-wing flies, because of the striking vibration of the wings in many species. Over 70 species in about 15 genera are found in the temperate regions of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Platypezidae is a family of true flies of the superfamily Platypezoidea. The more than 250 species are found worldwide primarily in woodland habitats. A common name is flat-footed flies, but this is also used for the closely related Opetiidae which were included in the Platypezidae in former times.
The Dixidae are a family of aquatic nematoceran flies (Diptera). The larvae live in unpolluted, standing fresh waters, just beneath the surface film, usually amongst marginal aquatic vegetation. They are found in all continents except Antarctica.
Aulacigastridae is a very small family of flies known as sap flies. The family Stenomicridae used to be included within this family, but was moved by Papp in 1984. They are found in all the Ecoregions.
Periscelididae is a family of flies.
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