Home » Macrophotography

The Order of Flies (Diptera)

Diptera form a major insect order characterized by the presence of a single pair of functional wings, with the second pair transformed into halteres used for balance in flight. With over 150,000 described species, flies occupy an incredible variety of ecological niches: pollinators, necrophages, parasites, predators, or disease vectors. Their morphology, life cycle (often with aquatic or saprophagous larval stages), and varied behaviors make them essential to ecosystem balance. This group includes well-known families such as Muscidae (house flies), Syrphidae (hoverflies), Tabanidae (horseflies), as well as more specialized groups like Tachinidae or Asilidae. This page introduces the order and points to its main superfamilies and families.

Flies: insects with two wings, as their name suggests.

There are over 150,000 known species.

Classification of Diptera Families by Superfamilies

Here is a classification of Diptera families by their respective superfamilies:

1. Asiloidea

Asilidae: Predatory flies known as “robber flies” or “bearded flies”.
Rhagionidae: Snipe flies, often predatory as well.

2. Calyptratae (a group of superfamilies within Cyclorrhapha)

Muscidae: House flies and relatives → Superfamily Muscoidea.
Tachinidae: Parasitic flies → Superfamily Oestroidea.

3. Muscoidea

Muscidae: House flies and flesh flies.

4. Oestroidea

Tachinidae: Parasitic flies.

5. Tephritoidea

Platystomatidae: Flies with marked wings, sometimes confused with Tephritidae.

6. Stratiomyoidea

Stratiomyidae: Soldier flies, often flattened and colorful.

7. Syrphoidea

Syrphidae: Hoverflies, often mimicking bees and highly beneficial as pollinators and aphid predators.

8. Tabanoidea

Tabanidae: Horseflies, blood-feeding females, strong fliers.

9. Tipuloidea

Tipulidae: Crane flies, sometimes called “mosquito hawks”, with very long legs.

Common names:

flies
hoverflies
mosquitoes
horseflies
gnats

A single pair of membranous wings

Diptera Superfamilies

Asiloidea

Empidoidea

Muscoidea

Oestroidea

Stratiomyoidea

Syrphoidea

Tabanoidea

Tephritoidea

Tipuloidea

Diptera Families

Asilidae

Rhagionidae

Empididae

Muscidae

Tachinidae

Stratiomyidae

Syrphidae

Tabanidae

Platystomatidae

Tipulidae

Calyptratae

Calyptratae – Higher Flies Group

Calyptratae include several families of advanced flies sharing a common wing base structure called the calypter.

Asiloidea

Asiloidea includes families of generally predatory flies, characterized by their fast flight and slender morphology.

Empidoidea

Empidoidea are small to medium-sized flies, often predatory, with fast flight and sometimes elaborate courtship behaviors.

Muscoidea

Muscoidea are widespread flies often associated with organic-rich environments or human activity.

Oestroidea

Oestroidea are often robust flies, sometimes parasitic or necrophagous, playing a key role in ecosystems and forensic science.

Stratiomyoidea

Stratiomyoidea includes flies that often mimic wasps, with compact bodies and aquatic or saprophagous larvae.

Syrphoidea

Syrphoidea mainly includes hoverflies, brightly colored flies often mimicking hymenopterans, essential for pollination.

Tabanoidea

Tabanoidea includes robust flies, often hematophagous, known for their painful bites on mammals.

Tephritoidea

Tephritoidea are often colorful flies, with many species associated with plants and some considered agricultural pests.

Tipuloidea

Tipuloidea are long-legged, slender-bodied flies, often mistaken for giant mosquitoes.