The Nematocera (the name means "thread-horns") are a suborder of elongated

flies 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 m ...

with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic

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. ...

e. This group is

paraphyletic In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...

and contains all flies but species from suborder

Brachycera The Brachycera are a suborder of the order Diptera. It is a major suborder consisting of around 120 families. Their most distinguishing characteristic is reduced antenna segmentation. Description A summary of the main physical characteristics i ...

(the name means "short-horns"), which includes more commonly known species as

housefly The housefly (''Musca domestica'') is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is believed to have evolved in the Cenozoic Era, possibly in the Middle East, and has spread all over the world as a commensal of humans. It is the most common fl ...

or the

common fruit fly ''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (the taxonomic order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly" or "pomace fly". Starting with ...

. Families in Nematocera include

mosquitoes Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small Diptera, flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish ...

, crane flies,

gnat A gnat () is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. They can be both biting and non-biting. Most often they fly in large ...

black flies A black fly or blackfly (sometimes called a buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks) is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 speci ...

, and a multiple groups of families described as

midge A midge is any small fly, including species in several families of non- mosquito Nematoceran Diptera. Midges are found (seasonally or otherwise) on practically every land area outside permanently arid deserts and the frigid zones. Some mi ...

s. The Nematocera typically have fairly long, fine, finely-jointed antennae. In many species, such as most mosquitoes, the female antennae are more or less threadlike, but the males have spectacularly plumose antennae. The larvae of most families of Nematocera are aquatic, either free-swimming, rock-dwelling, plant-dwelling, or luticolous. Some families however, are not aquatic; for instance the

Tipulidae Crane fly is a common name referring to any member of the insect family Tipulidae. Cylindrotominae, Limoniinae, and Pediciinae have been ranked as subfamilies of Tipulidae by most authors, though occasionally elevated to family rank. In the m ...

tend to be soil-dwelling and the

Mycetophilidae The Mycetophilidae are a family of small flies, forming the bulk of those species known as fungus gnats. About 3000 described species are placed in 150 genera, but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher. They are generally found i ...

feed on fungi such as mushrooms. Unlike most of the Brachycera, the larvae of Nematocera have distinct heads with mouthparts that may be modified for filter feeding or chewing, depending on their lifestyles. The

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

e are orthorrhaphous which means that adults emerge from the pupa through a straight, longitudinal seam in the dorsal surface of the pupal cuticle. The bodies and legs of most adult Nematocera are elongated, and many species have relatively long abdomens. Males of many species form mating swarms like faint pillars of smoke, competing for females that visit the cloud of males to find a mate.

Families

These families belong to the suborder Nematocera: *

Anisopodidae 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 m ...

Knab, 1912 - wood gnats or window-gnats *

Axymyiidae The Nematoceran family Axymyiidae is the sole member of the infraorder Axymyiomorpha, though it is often included within the infraorder Bibionomorpha in older classifications. It is known from only nine species in four genera, plus eight fossil s ...

Shannon, 1921 *

Bibionidae Bibionidae (March flies) is a family of flies (Diptera) containing approximately 650–700 species worldwide. Adults are nectar feeders and emerge in numbers in spring. Because of the likelihood of adults flies being found ''in copula'', they h ...

Fleming, 1821 - march flies and love bugs *

Blephariceridae The Blephariceridae, commonly known as net-winged midges, are a nematoceran family in the order Diptera. The adults resemble crane flies except with a projecting anal angle in the wings, and different head shape, absence of the V on the mesonotum, ...

Loew, 1861 - net-winged midges * Bolitophilidae Winnertz, 1863 * Canthyloscelididae Enderlein, 1912 *

Cecidomyiidae 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 us ...

Newman, 1835 - gall midges or gall gnats *

Ceratopogonidae Ceratopogonidae is a family of flies commonly known as no-see-ums, or biting midges, generally in length. The family includes more than 5,000 species, distributed worldwide, apart from the Antarctic and the Arctic. Ceratopogonidae are holomet ...

Newman, 1834 - biting midges *

Chaoboridae Chaoboridae, commonly known as phantom midges or glassworms, is a family of fairly common midges with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are closely related to the Corethrellidae and Chironomidae; the adults are differentiated through peculiaritie ...

Newman, 1834 - phantom midges *

Chironomidae The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many specie ...

Newman, 1834 - chironomids or nonbiting midges *

Corethrellidae Corethrellidae are a family of biting midges, small flying insects belonging to the order Diptera, females of which feed on the blood of frogs. The members of the family are sometimes known as frog-biting midges. The family currently consists of ...

Edwards, 1932 - frog-biting midges *

Culicidae Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "litt ...

Meigen, 1818 - mosquitoes * Cylindrotomidae Schiner, 1863 - cylindrotomid crane flies *

Deuterophlebiidae The fly genus ''Deuterophlebia'' is the sole member of the small monogeneric family Deuterophlebiidae or mountain midges. Adults have broad, fan-shaped wings, and males have extremely long antennae which they employ when contesting territories ov ...

Edwards, 1922 - mountain midges * Diadocidiidae Winnertz, 1863 *

Ditomyiidae The Ditomyiidae are a small (90 species) family of flies (Diptera).They are found worldwide (except in the Afrotropical Region), most species are found in the Australasian and Neotropical realms. There are only two genera in Europe ''Ditomyia'' W ...

Keilin, 1919 *

Dixidae The Dixidae (meniscus midges) 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 ...

Schiner, 1868 - meniscus midges * Hesperinidae Schiner, 1864 *

Keroplatidae The Keroplatidae are a family of small fly, flies known as fungus gnats. About 950 species are described, but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher. They are generally forest dwellers found in the damp habitats favoured by their h ...

Rondani, 1856 - predatory fungus gnats * Limoniidae Rondani, 1856 - limoniid crane flies *

Lygistorrhinidae Lygistorrhinidae is a family of long-beaked fungus gnats in the order Diptera. There are about 7 genera and at least 30 described species in Lygistorrhinidae. Genera *†'' Archaeognoriste'' Blagoderov & Grimaldi, 2004 *'' Asiorrhina'' Bl ...

Edwards, 1925 - long-beaked fungus gnats *

Newman, 1834 - fungus gnats *

Nymphomyiidae The Nymphomyiidae are a family of tiny (2 mm) slender, delicate flies (Diptera). Larvae are found among aquatic mosses in small, rapid stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a c ...

Tokunaga, 1932 * Pachyneuridae Schiner, 1864 *

Pediciidae The Pediciidae or hairy-eyed craneflies are a family of flies closely related to true crane flies, with about 500 species worldwide. Description For terms see Morphology of Diptera. Pediciidae are medium-sized to large (5 mm., ''Dicrano ...

Osten Sacken, 1859 - hairy-eyed crane flies * Perissommatidae Colless, 1962 *

Psychodidae Psychodidae, called drain flies, sink flies, filter flies, sewer flies, or sewer gnats, is a family of Fly, true flies. Some genera have short, hairy bodies and wings giving them a "furry" moth-like appearance, hence one of their common names, m ...

Newman, 1834 - moth flies or drain flies *

Ptychopteridae The Ptychopteridae, phantom crane flies, are a small family (three extant genera) of nematocerous Diptera. Superficially similar in appearance to other "tipuloid" families, they lack the ocelli of the Trichoceridae, the five-branched radial vein ...

Osten Sacken, 1862 - phantom crane flies *

Rangomaramidae Rangomaramidae is a family of flies in the infraorder Bibionomorpha. The family, members of which are known as long-winged fungus gnats, was erected in 2002 by Jaschhof and Didham to include five new species of flies in the genus '' Rangomarama'' ...

Jaschhof & Didham, 2002 * Scatopsidae Newman, 1834 - minute black scavenger flies or dung midges *

Sciaridae The Sciaridae are a family of flies, commonly known as dark-winged fungus gnats. Commonly found in moist environments, they are known to be a pest of mushroom farms and are commonly found in household plant pots. This is one of the least studie ...

Billberg, 1820 - dark-winged fungus gnats *

Simuliidae A black fly or blackfly (sometimes called a buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks) is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 ...

Newman, 1834 - black flies * Tanyderidae Osten Sacken, 1880 - primitive crane flies *

Thaumaleidae Thaumaleidae, the solitary midges or trickle midges, are a group of nematoceran flies related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and the Simuliidae. They are small, stocky, yellow to brown flies (3–4 mm). Very few species are known f ...

Bezzi, 1913 - trickle midges *

Latreille, 1802 - large crane flies * Trichoceridae Rondani, 1841 - winter crane flies *

Valeseguyidae Valeseguyidae is a family of flies, belonging to Scatopsoidea. It contains only one known extant species, ''Valeseguya rieki'', known from a single male specimen found in Victoria, Australia, described in 1990. It was initially classified as a m ...

Amorim & Grimaldi, 2006 * † Ansorgiidae Krzemiñski & Lukashevich, 1993 * †

Antefungivoridae Antefungivoridae is an extinct family of fungus gnats and gall midges in the order Diptera. There are about 9 genera and more than 40 described species in Antefungivoridae. Genera These nine genera belong to the family Antefungivoridae: * † '' ...

Rohdendorf, 1938 * † Archizelmiridae Rohdendorf, 1962 * † Asiochaoboridae Hong & Wang, 1990 * † Boholdoyidae Kovalev, 1985 * †

Cascopleciidae ''Cascoplecia insolitis'', rarely known as the unicorn fly, is an extinct dipteran that lived in the Early Cretaceous. The type specimen was found in Burmese amber. George Poinar Jr., who described the fossil, placed the genus into a new family ...

Poinar Jr., 2010 * † Crosaphididae Kovalev, 1983 * † Elliidae Krzeminska, Blagoderov & Krezmiñski, 1993 * † Eoditomyiidae Ansorge, 1996 * † Eopolyneuridae Rohdendorf, 1962 * † Grauvogeliidae Krzemiñski, 1999 * † Hennigmatidae Shcherbakov, 1995 * † Heterorhyphidae Ansorge & Krzemiñski, 1995 * † Hyperpolyneuridae Rohdendorf, 1962 * † Luanpingitidae Zhang, 1986 * † Mesosciophilidae Rohdendorf, 1946 * † Nadipteridae Lukashevich, 1995 * † Palaeophoridae Rohdendorf, 1951 * † Paraxymyiidae Rohdendorf, 1946 * † Pleciofungivoridae Rohdendorf, 1946 * † Procramptonomyiidae Kovalev, 1983 * † Protendipedidae Rohdendorf, 1951 * † Protopleciidae Rohdendorf, 1946 * † Protorhyphidae Handlirsch, 1906 * † Protoscatopsidae Rohdendorf, 1946 * † Serendipidae Evenhuis, 1994 * † Siberhyphidae Kovalev, 1985 * †

Strashilidae Strashilidae is an extinct family of Jurassic flies from Siberia and China. They were originally believed to represent a distinct order called Nakridletia, but subsequent research determined that they were nematoceran flies related to the ext ...

Rasnitsyn, 1992 * † Tanyderophrynidae Rohdendorf, 1962 * † Tethepomyiidae Grimaldi & Arillo, 2009 * † Tillyardipteridae Lukashevich & Shcherbakov, 1999 * † Tipulodictyidae Rohdendorf, 1962 * † Tipulopleciidae Rohdendorf, 1962 * † Vladipteridae Shcherbakov, 1995

References

* Borror, D. J., DeLong, D. M., Triplehorn, C. A.(1976) Fourth edition. ''An introduction to the study of insects''. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. New York, Chicago. * Arnett, R. H. Jr. (2000) Second edition. ''American insects''. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Londres,New York, Washington, D. C.

External links

Image Gallery from Diptera.info
{{Authority control Insect suborders