Nerioidea is a
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
Acalyptratae
The Acalyptratae or Acalyptrata are a subsection of the Schizophora, which are a section of the order Diptera, the "true flies". In various contexts the Acalyptratae also are referred to informally as the acalyptrate muscoids, or acalyptrates, as ...
flies.
Description
As flies, Nerioidea undergo complete
metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
with the four life stages of egg, larva, pupa and adult. The adult stage has three body segments (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of legs and one pair of wings.
Some features that distinguish adult Nerioidea from other flies are: a face that's usually weakly sclerotised (except in
Fergusoninidae), antenna usually porrect or slightly deflexed (elbowed in
Tanypezidae
The Tanypezidae, known as the “stretched-foot flies”, are small family of acalyptrate Diptera (Schizophora, Brachycera). The 28 species are found mostly in the New World, divided between two genera: ''Tanypeza'' (2 species) is found in North ...
), wing veins R2+3 and R4+5 usually convergent, and the wing anal cell usually much smaller than the subcostal cell.
Ecology
Most Nerioidea are associated with dead and decaying organic matter such as dead wood, rotting fruit and bat dung. On the other hand, Fergusoninidae form
galls
Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...
in plants of family
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...
, and some
Micropezidae
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, (except New Zealand and Macquarie Island).McAlpine, D.K. (1998 ...
have larvae that are predatory or agricultural pests.
Notable species
* ''
Glyphidops flavifrons -'' can be found in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions
References
Diptera superfamilies
{{Nerioidea-stub