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Nematocera
The Nematocera (the name means "thread-horns") are a suborder of elongated flies with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic larvae. This group is paraphyletic and contains all flies but species from suborder Brachycera (the name means "short-horns"), which includes more commonly known species as housefly or the common fruit fly. Families in Nematocera include mosquitoes, crane flies, gnats, black flies, and a multiple groups of families described as midges. 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 tend to be soil-dwelling and the Mycetophilidae feed on fungi such as mushrooms. Unlike most of the Brachycera, th ...
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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 species. Family characteristics The Axymyiidae have the general appearance of the Bibionidae. Unlike bibionids, axymyiids have four branches of the radial vein, Bibionidae have two or three. The head is rounded. The eyes of the male are holoptic Holoptic refers to one of the ways in which the arthropod eye develops, particularly the eyes of various species of insects. Unlike dichoptic and cycloptic eyes, holoptic eyes meet along the median dorsal line of the head, in many species near ... for a considerable distance and divided into a larger dorsal part consisting of large facets and (separated by a groove) a smaller ventral part of smaller facets. The eyes of the female are separated by a broad frons and consist of separated facet ...
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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 numbers, called clouds. "Gnat" is a loose descriptive category rather than a phylogenetic or other technical term, so there is no scientific consensus on what constitutes a gnat. Some entomologists consider only non-biting flies to be gnats. Certain universities and institutes also distinguish eye gnats: the Smithsonian Institution describes them as "non-biting flies, no bigger than a few grains of salt, ... attracted to fluids secreted by your eyes". Description As nematoceran flies, adult gnats have antennae with at least six segments that are often long and slender. They are generally slender-bodied with long and narrow wings. Black fly (Simuliidae) and biting midges (Ceratopogonidae), also belonging to the gnat category, are small ...
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Nymphomyiomorpha
The Nymphomyiidae are a family of tiny (2 mm) slender, delicate flies (Diptera). Larvae are found among aquatic mosses in small, rapid streams in northern regions of the world, including northeastern North America, Japan, the Himalayas, and eastern Russia. Around a dozen extant species are known, with two fossil species found in amber, extending back to the Mid Cretaceous. Under an alternative classification, they are considered the only living representatives of a separate, suborder called Archidiptera (or Archaediptera) which includes several Triassic fossil members. The family has characteristics associated with the Nematocera as well as the Brachycera. The antennae are shortened as in the Brachycera and these flies are long, having a snout with vestigeal mouthparts, non-differentiated abdominal segments with large cerci. The wings are narrow and hair-fringed and have very weak venation. They are known to form cloud-like swarms in summer and the short-lived non-feeding adul ...
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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 midges, such as many Phlebotominae (sand fly) and Simuliidae (black fly), are vectors of various diseases. Many others play useful roles as prey for insectivores, such as various frogs and swallows. Others are important as detritivores, and form part of various nutrient cycles. The habits of midges vary greatly from species to species, though within any particular family, midges commonly have similar ecological roles. Examples of families that include species of midges include: * Blephariceridae, net-winged midges * Cecidomyiidae, gall midges * Ceratopogonidae, biting midges (also known as no-see-ums or punkies in North Americabr>BugGuide/ref> and sandflies in Australia) * Chaoboridae, phantom midges * Chironomidae, non-biting midg ...
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Perissommatomorpha
The Perissommatidae are a family of flies (Diptera) that was proposed in 1962 by Donald Colless based on the species ''Perissomma fusca'' from Australia. The family now includes five extant species within the single genus ''Perissomma'', four from Australia and one from Chile. The Perissommatidae are unusual as they appear to have four compound eyes. They have a small slender body less than 2 mm in length. Their wings are large in comparison to their bodies and subsequently their flight is weak. Preferring high-altitude forest environments, adults only fly in the winter. The larvae live in decaying leaf litter in wet sclerophyll or cool rain forests. Some species are suspected to be associated with fungi. In the case of ''Perissomma macalpinei'', numbers of adults have been observed congregating in clumps of foliage and rising in short, zigzag flights in the sunlight above the foliage for short periods before descending. Fossils of the family are known from the Middle Jurassic ...
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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 have earned colloquial names such as "love bugs" or "honeymoon flies". Description Bibionidae are medium-sized flies with a body length from 4.0 to 10.0 mm. The body is black, brown, or rusty, and thickset, with thick legs. The antennae are moniliform. The front tibiae bear large strong spurs or a circlet of spines. The tarsi are five-segmented and bear tarsal claws, pulvilli, and a well developed empodium. The wings have two basal cells (posterior basal wing cell and basal wing cell), but are without a discoidal wing cell. R4+5 is simple or branched; at most, only three branches of R developed. The leading edge wing veins are stronger than the weak veins of the trailing edge. Biology Bibionid larvae grow up in grassy areas and ...
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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 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. Description For terms see Morphology of Diptera. Authors disagree on the circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) *Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop .. ...
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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 fly species found in houses. Adults are gray to black, with four dark, longitudinal lines on the thorax, slightly hairy bodies, and a single pair of membranous wings. They have red eyes, set farther apart in the slightly larger female. The female housefly usually mates only once and stores the sperm for later use. She lays batches of about 100 eggs on decaying organic matter such as food waste, carrion, or feces. These soon hatch into legless white larvae, known as maggots. After two to five days of development, these metamorphose into reddish-brown pupae, about long. Adult flies normally live for two to four weeks, but can hibernate during the winter. The adults feed on a variety of liquid or semi-liquid substances, as well as sol ...
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Deuterophlebiomorpha
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 over running water, waiting for females to hatch. Larvae occur in swiftly flowing streams and are easily recognized by their forked antennae and the prolegs on the abdomen. One classification places this family in its own infraorder Deuterophlebiomorpha, but this has not gained wide acceptance. A recent phylogeny of the entire order Diptera places them as the sister group to all other flies. Species Catalogue of Life accepts the following species within ''Deuterophlebia:'' * '' Deuterophlebia bicarinata'' Courtney, 1994 * ''Deuterophlebia blepharis'' Courtney, 1994 * '' Deuterophlebia brachyrhina'' Courtney, 1994 * '' Deuterophlebia coloradensis'' Pennak, 1945 * '' Deuterophlebia inyoensis'' Kennedy, 1960 * '' Deuterophlebia mirabilis' ...
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Crane Fly
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 most recent classifications, only Pediciidae is now ranked as a separate family, due to considerations of paraphyly. In colloquial speech, crane flies are sometimes known as "mosquito hawks", "skeeter-eater", or "daddy longlegs", (a term also used to describe opiliones (harvestmen) and members of the spider family Pholcidae, both of which are arachnids). The larvae of crane flies are known commonly as leatherjackets. Crown group crane flies have existed since at least the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous and are found worldwide, though individual species usually have limited ranges. They are most diverse in the tropics but are also common in northern latitudes and high elevations. Tipulidae is one of the largest groups of flies, ...
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Bibionomorpha
The Bibionomorpha are an infraorder of the suborder Nematocera. One of its constituent families, the Anisopodidae, is the presumed sister taxon to the entire suborder Brachycera. Several of the remaining families in the infraorder (those shown without common names) are former subfamilies of the Mycetophilidae, which has been recently subdivided. The family Axymyiidae has recently been removed from the Bibionomorpha to its own infraorder Axymyiomorpha. Most representatives of the Bibionomorpha are saprophages or fungivores as larvae with the Cecidomyiidae being predominantly gall-formers. Some sciarids are common indoor pests, developing large populations in potting soil that has become moldy from overwatering. The larvae of the Bibionidae sometimes migrate in large, snake-like masses to minimize dehydration while seeking a new feeding site. Extinct families The extinct bibionomorph fauna is: **Cascopleciidae ''Cascoplecia insolitis'', rarely known as the unicorn fly, is an ex ...
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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 their life cycle, the stages thereof being egg, larva, pupa, and imago. The processes of entering and completing the pupal stage are controlled by the insect's hormones, especially juvenile hormone, prothoracicotropic hormone, and ecdysone. The act of becoming a pupa is called pupation, and the act of emerging from the pupal case is called eclosion or emergence. The pupae of different groups of insects have different names such as ''chrysalis'' for the pupae of butterflies and ''tumbler'' for those of the mosquito family. Pupae may further be enclosed in other structures such as cocoons, nests, or shells. Position in life cycle The pupal stage follows the larval stage and precedes adulthood ('' imago'') in insects with complete meta ...
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