• Ceratopogonidae - Biting midges
• Culicidae - Mosquitoes
• Psychodidae
• Simuliidae

• Overall appearance
  • Typically small and relatively delicate. (B504)
• Adult Head
  • Long, many-segmented antennae; individual segments are similar to each other, like "beads on a string". (B502, B504)
  • Antennae never bears a style or arista (bristle borne on antennae of some flies B73). (B502)
  • Palpi are usually four or five segmented. (B502)
• Larval Head
  • Well-developed heads. (B502)
  • Opposable mandibles. (B502)
• Habitat
  • Generally breed in aquatic or semi-aquatic environments and larvae have appendages for breathing, swimming and gathering food in the water. (B504)
• Feeding
  • Only females feed on blood. (B504)
  • Males feed mainly on nectar. (B504)

• Tabanidae - Horse flies, Clegs, Deer-flies etc.
• Rhagionidae - Snipe flies

• Overall appearance
  • Many species are large and conspicuous. (B502)
• Adult Head
  • Some species have a "beak". (B502)
  • Antennae are shorter than the thorax. (B502)
  • Antennae in three segments; the terminal segment has a terminal style   or arista (bristle borne on antennae of some flies B73). (B502)
  • Palpi have one or two segments and project forwards. (B502)
• Larval Head
  • Incomplete head which is usually retractile. (B502)
  • Mandibles bite vertically. (B502)

• Calliphoridae - Blue-bottles
• Hippoboscidae - Keds, Louse-flies etc.
• Muscidae - House flies
• Oestridae
• Sarcophagidae
• Nycteribiidae - Ked-like flies on bats
• Streblidae -Ked-like flies on bats

• Overall appearance
  • Large group of flies with variable general appearance. (B502)
• Adult Head
  • Three-segmented antennae with style  or arista (bristle borne on antennae of some flies B73) carried dorsally on the last segment. (B502)
  • Palpi have a single segment. (B502)
• Larval Head
  • Larvae are headless maggots
  • Sclerotized mouth hooks work side by side in a vertical plane. (B502)
• Larval Development
  • Pupa formed within last larval skin. This is sloughed from the pupa without being discarded and forms the hard outer case of the pupa (the puparium). (B502)

General Features

• Features:
  • normally have one pair of functional mesothoracic wings (exceptions include certain specialised groups, such as the parasitic Hippoboscidae - Keds, Louse-flies etc.(Family)). (B504)
  • the metathoracic region (where the second wing pair are attached in other Hexapoda - Insects (Class) groups) has replaced wings with club-shaped balancing organs called "halteres". These are present even in the wingless Hippoboscidae - Keds, Louse-flies etc.(Family).
• Life Cycle:
  • Metamorphosis is complex
    • some flies are oviparous (produce eggs)
    • others deposit larva that have already hatched
    • others retain their larva within their abdomens until the third larval instar which then pupate almost immediately upon being born (e.g. Hippoboscidae - Keds, Louse-flies etc.(Family), Tsetse fly)

(B504)