Diptera

Diptera (true flies)
Diptera is an order in the much disputed phylum Uniramia or Hexapoda (depending on which book you read), click the Uniramia menu below left for more pages in this phylum.
click here for hoverflies and main true fly page and index of families

Uniramia

--Centipedes

--Hexapoda 1 (insects)

--Hexapoda 2 (insects)

--Insect orders

----Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths)

----Ephemeroptera (mayflies)

----Hemiptera (bugs, cicadas)

----Hymenoptera (bees, ants, wasps & saw flies)

------Bumblebees

----Coleoptera (beetles)

----Dictyoptera (mantids, cockroaches)

----Diptera (true flies)

----Neuroptera (lacewings, ant lions)

----Orthoptera (crickets, locusts)

----Thysanura (bristletails, silver fish)

----Strepsiptera (stylops)

----Thysanoptera (thrips)

----Odonata (dragonflies, damselflies)

----Trichoptera (caddis flies)

----Siphonaptera (fleas)

----Isoptera (termites)

----Phasmida (stick & leaf insects)

----Dermaptera (earwigs)

----Anoplura/siphunculata (sucking lice)

----Mallophaga (biting lice, bird lice)

----Psocoptera (book, bark, dust lice)

----Mecoptera (scorpion flies)

----Collembola (springtail)

----Embioptera (web spinners)

----Plecoptera (stone flies)

Psychodidae family. The owl midge and moth flies.

There are about 80 British species; all very small with hairy, pointed wings. The larvae (see below) feed on decaying matter and are aquatic. Often the adults can be found in huge swarms around sewage filter beds, and in such habitats are an important food source for bats. The adults fly both during the day and night in spring and summer.

On the left is Psychoda sp., and adult owl midge or moth fly

Below is the larva of Pericoma pseudo exquisita it has 26 chitinous hair-bearing plates in its back. It is found in moss, algal mats, and dead leaves at stream margins.

Return to main Diptera (flies) page and Diptera fast facts.

Pericoma pseudo exquisita, Psychodidae, owl/moth fly

On the right is a tiny biting midge from the Ceratopogonidae family, these are sometimes called punkies, and on the left is the larva. There are 1200 species in the family, and over 150 Britiah species. They feed on the blood of warm- and cold-blooded vertebrates. In some parts of the world they are carriers of disease. U. K. species are just 2 - 3 mm long, and the males have plumose antennae. Midges in Scotland have a wing beat of over 1000 beats per second. Compare this with other insects.

In the U.K. and northern Europe the larva are up to 12 mm long, transparent, with a worm-like body and a radial tuft of hairs at the end of the abdomen. They are abundant in small pools and ditches, especially those with peaty water and filamentous algae. They are weak swimmers.

Drosophilidae family
These are commonly known as the fruit flies and vinegar flies. They are found world wide, and there are around 1500 species in the world and 50 British species. All are small, brown, grey or yellow flies, often with brightly coloured eyes, and the adults are 2 - 4 mm long. On the left is a typical adult fly. They feed on decaying and/or fermenting plant materials. They are commonly used in genetic studies as they have large chromosomes easily obtainable from the salivary glands, and they have a very short life cycle. They have a wing beat of 300 per second. Compare this with other insects.

Drosophila melanogaster is the most commonly used in experiments. The adult female can lay 15 - 25 small, white eggs per day, and from 400 - 900 in her life time. On hatching the larva burrows into the food material where they stay until ready to pupate.

Drosopolidae, fruit fly adult

ParisPages

VietnamPages Stonehaven, Scotland