The Lonchopteridae (spear-winged flies or pointed-wing flies) are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of small (2–5 mm), slender, yellow to brownish-black

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

, occurring all over the world. Their common name refers to their pointed

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

, which have a distinct venation. Many are

parthenogenic Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...

; males are very rare, however, at least in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n species, and have a somewhat different venation than do the females.Smith, K.G.V. (1969): '' Handbook for the Identification of British Insects'' 10(2ai: Diptera Lonchopteridae): 1–9.Borror, D.J.; Triplehorn, C.A. & Johnson, N.A. (1989): ''An Introduction to the Study of Insects'' (6th edition). Saunders College Publishing. Lonchopteridae wing veins-male

Spear-winged flies are common in moist, shady, grassy areas, where the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e are found within decaying vegetation. One species, ''

Lonchoptera bifurcata ''Lonchoptera bifurcata'' is a species of spear-winged or pointed-winged flies in the family '' Lonchopteridae''. It has a Holarctic distribution and is present in Europe, Asia and North America. Description An adult ''Lonchoptera bifurcata'' is ...

'', is

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

in distribution, and may have been transported via shipments of

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

Description

For terms see

Morphology of Diptera Dipteran morphology differs in some significant ways from the broader morphology of insects. The Diptera is a very large and diverse order of mostly small to medium-sized insects. They have prominent compound eyes on a mobile head, and (at most) ...

.
The Lonchopteridae are minute, slender flies with long wings which are pointed at the apex. The head is rounded, with the outer vertical bristles, inner vertical bristles, ocellar bristles, interfrontal bristles, and bristles along the margin of the broad mouth very well developed. The mesonotum and scutellum and legs have well developed bristles. The radial vein R has three branches (R1, R2+3, R4+5). The median vein M is furcate (M1, M2). The anal vein A merges with the cubital vein Cu (female) or terminates freely (male).

Systematics

They are usually placed in the

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

of flat-footed flies and allies (

Platypezoidea The Platypezoidea are a superfamily of true flies of the section Aschiza. Their closest living relatives are the Syrphoidea, which, for example, contain the hoverflies. Like these, the adults do not burst open their pupal cases with a ptilinu ...

). If the Platypezoidea are restricted to the flat-footed flies ''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'', the spear-winged flies are united with the Ironomyiidae and the coffin and scuttle flies (

Phoridae The Phoridae are a family of small, hump-backed flies resembling fruit flies. Phorid flies can often be identified by their escape habit of running rapidly across a surface rather than taking to the wing. This behaviour is a source of one of thei ...

) as Phoroidea. More rarely, they are treated as

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

superfamily Lonchopteroidea. Four living genera are in this family, encompassing some 50 described

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

all together:

Tree of Life Web Project The Tree of Life Web Project is an Internet project providing information about the diversity and phylogeny of life on Earth. This collaborative peer reviewed project began in 1995, and is written by biologists from around the world. The site h ...

(ToL) (2007)
Lonchopteridae
Version of 2007-NOV-29. Retrieved 2009-APR-07. * '' Homolonchoptera'' Yang, 1998 * ''

Lonchoptera ''Lonchoptera'' is a genus of spear-winged flies ( Lonchopteridae). Their common name refers to their subacute (pointed) wings, which have a distinct and sexually dimorphic venation. Description Species in ''Lonchoptera'' are tiny to small, at ...

'' Meigen, 1803 * '' Neolonchoptera'' Vaillant, 1989 * '' Spilolonchoptera'' Yang, 1998 Two

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

genera of spear-winged flies have been described: * '' Lonchopterites'' Grimaldi & Cumming, 1999 * '' Lonchopteromorpha'' Grimaldi & Cumming, 1999

Species

West Palaearctic including RussiaJapanWorld list

References

External links

Lonchopteridae The Lonchopteridae (spear-winged flies or pointed-wing flies) are a family of small (2–5 mm), slender, yellow to brownish-black Diptera, occurring all over the world. Their common name refers to their pointed wings, which have a distinct v ...

In Italian
Lonchopteridae page at the Bishop Museum, Honolulu

Family Lonchopteridae at EOL
Image Gallery
Photograph of ''Lonchoptera furcata'' Fallén
Should be ''L. bifurcata''.
Photograph of ''Lonchoptera lutea'' Panzer
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1410925 Brachycera families Taxa named by Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart