Flies - Order Diptera
This page contains pictures and information about flies and mosquitoes that we have founded in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
Flies and mosquitoes are classified as order Diptera, which mean two wings. The insects in this order have only one pair of membranous flying wings. The second pair of wings are reduced to small knobs, called halteres , for the purpose of balancing. Their body is relatively soft and hairy. They have a pair of large compound eyes, a pair of very short antennae and a sucking mouth.
Members in this order are strong flier. They are active in day time but some are active at night. Most species with external digestion, foods are liquidized by their enzymes before suck up by their sucking mouths. Some species, like the mosquitoes, pierce the prey skin with their sharp mouthparts and suck up the blood.
Files develop by complete metamorphosis with four stages, i.e., eggs, larva, pupa and adult. Their larvae are known as maggots. Usually there are four larval instars. In some species, females deposit live larvae. Larvae in this order do not have legs and most of their heads reduced to very simple form. The mosquitoes larvae are mainly aquatic.
Classification :
Order Diptera is divided into two suborders, Nematocera and Brachycera.
Suborder Nematocera
- Members in this suborder are generally primitive flies, all with filamentous antenna of 6-14 segment. Usually their bodies and legs are elongated, with a relatively long abdomen. Larvae are mostly aquatic.
Family Tipulidae - Crane Flies- Flies in this family look like giant mosquitoes (mosquitoes will not be that large). However, not like mosquitoes, they do not feed on blood. Crane flies only drink water but do not feed at adult stage. Most of them have their long thin legs and slender body.
Family Culicidae - Mosquitoes - Mosquitoes could be the most encountered insects when we go for bush-walking and talking insect photos. Only a few species of mosquitoes suck human blood. Some species suck blood from other vertebrate animals. Some species do not suck blood at all.
Family Bibionidae - March Flies- Adults in this family are slow moving, usually dark in colour. They are nectar and pollen feeder. Larvae live in soil or plants, feeds on decaying plant materials.
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Suborder Brachycera
- Members in this suborder are with short to very short antennae. Their adults are generally robust fliers. Larvae are all with three instars stages. Their head capsule is incomplete or absent. They pupae inside puparium formed from last larval skin.
Family Rhagionidae
- Snipe Flies- Flies in this family are usually small in size. They have slender body, sparse hairs and long legs. Most of them are in dull colours. Some species in this family suck blood.
Superfamily Tabanoidea
Family Tabanidae - March Flies - March Flies are from small to large in size. They have large eyes with reflective iridescent colour. Their wings always have the 'Y' shaped veins at the tip. Usually there are the dense short hairs on their body. Some species of female feed on blood, they target on horse, cattle and humans.
Family Stratiomyidae - Solder
Flies - We cannot find more information about Solder flies from internet nor reference books. It seems we do not know much about them. Their Larvae are carnivorous and occur in various habitats such as aquatic, decaying materials and under bark.
Superfamily
Family Asilidae - Robber
Flies
The Robber Flies have strong legs which can catch prey on flight. They are large flies with large eyes and necked head. They are active predators on flying insects, unselective in prey species. Their mouthparts are the triangular proboscis which insert into prey and suck the juice.
Family Apioceridae - Flower-loving Flies- This fly is easily identified by its wing veins. Although they are called Flower-loving Flies and feed on flowers, they usually are found resting on ground. We only found one species of this family.
Family Bombyliidae - Bee
Flies- Bee Flies are with long proboscis and feed on nectar. They are hairy resemble bees. Most of them mimic wasps or bees. However, they have stout bodies and do not have narrowed waist. Their wings are usually dark in colour, some with patterns. When at rest, their wings are flat in outspread position.
Family Dolichopodidae - Dolichopodid
Flies- They are small to minute in size with bright metallic colors, mostly green or bronze. Their legs are long and so they have their common name. Adult Dolichopodid Flies feed on smaller insects such as aphids. Larvae are usually found in moist soil and under tree bark.
Superfamily Empidoidea
Superfamily Syrphoidea
Family Syrphidae - Hover
Flies- Hover Flies may sometimes confused with bees or wasps because their mimic colour. Their bodies are medium to slender. On their abdomen there are the yellow-black wasps pattern and the narrow waist mimic pattern. The flies feed on nectar and are the pollinators of plants as well.
Superfamily Ephydroidea
- Vinegar
Flies- Vinegar Flies are small in size. They usually have red-eyes and yellowish body colour. They often attracted to fermenting or rotting fruit. The larvae are tiny maggots that develop quickly in rotting fruit.
Superfamily Tephritoidea
Family Platystomatidae - Signal Flies- Most flies in this family feed on mammalian faeces. Their larvae habits are varied. Some lives in plant trunk damaged by other insects or fungi. This group of flies contains the spectacular species, the stalk-eyed signal flies. The males have eyes on long stalks extending from either side of their heads.
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Family Tephritidae - Fruit
Flies - Most larvae in this family are fruit feeders and some are serious economic pests. The female Fruit flies insert their eggs inside fruit and the larvae live inside.
Family Muscidae
- Bush Flies- Bush Flies develop as maggots in the animals dung. Adults have two stripes on their back. The Common House Fly Musca domestica is also in this family.
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Family Calliphoridae - Blowflies - Most of the flies in this family are metallic green or blue colour. They are medium to large in size. There are the bristles on the both sides of their thorax and abdomen tip. Adult Blowfly feeds on nectar, honey dew and other sweet liquid, or liquid products of organic decomposition.
Family Sarcophagidae - Flesh
Flies- The Flesh flies have three black stripes on the top of their thorax. The females are viviparous, producing live maggots directly onto their food source. They are either breed in rotting vegetation or parasites on other insects. They are commonly seen in Brisbane backyards.
Family Tachinidae - Tachinid
flies- All Tachinid Flies share the parasitoid habit, their larvae are parasites in other insects. They mainly parasites on larvae of moths or butterflies, larvae or adults of beetles. Others Tachinid Flies species attack adults of bugs, or adults of various orthopteroid orders.
- Others - Please also visit this page, there are the flies that we cannot identify yet.
Superfamily Muscoidea
