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Tabanomorpha

(Infraorder)

Overview

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The infraorder Tabanomorpha is a small group that consists primarily of two large families, the Tabanidae (horse and deer flies) and Rhagionidae (snipe flies), and an assortment of very small affiliated families, most of which have been (or could be, or sometimes are) included within the Rhagionidae. The Tabanomorpha is one of the two Brachyceran groups outside the Hippoboscoidea that contain blood-feeding (hematophagous) species, though they are not important disease vectors.

The larvae of tabanomorphs are primarily found in aquatic or semi-aquatic habitats, and are predatory. They often have "warts" or other body projections that may resemble the prolegs of caterpillars.

Classification

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The infraorder Vermileonomorpha is often included within the Tabanomorpha, though the most recent classifications place them as its sister taxon. There are also some classifications that place the Nemestrinoidea within the Tabanomorpha, though this is not widely accepted.

Photos

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Taxonomy

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The Infraorder Tabanomorpha is a member of the Suborder Brachycera. Here is the complete "parentage" of Tabanomorpha:

The Infraorder Tabanomorpha is further organized into finer groupings including:

Families

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Athericidae

[more]

Panthophthalmidae

[more]

Pelecorhynchidae

[more]

Rhagionidae

Rhagionidae or snipe flies are a small of flies containing 21 genera. [more]

Stratiomyidae

The soldier flies (Stratiomyidae, sometimes misspelled as Stratiomyiidae), are a family of (historically placed in the now-obsolete group Orthorrhapha). The family contains about 1,500 species in about 400 genera worldwide. Adults are found near larval habitats. Larvae can be found in a diverse array of situations mostly in wetlands and damp places in soil, sod, under bark, and in animal excrement and decaying organic matter. They are diverse in size and shape, though they commonly are partly or wholly metallic green, or somewhat wasplike mimics, marked with black and yellow or green and sometimes metallic. They are often rather inactive flies which typically rest with their wings placed one above the other over the abdomen. [more]

Tabanidae

Insects in the order , family Tabanidae, are commonly called horse flies, and sometimes also forest flies or deer flies. The former, however, can also refer to Hippoboscidae, and the latter refers specifically to the horse-fly genus Chrysops. Often considered pests for the bites that many inflict, they are among the world's largest true flies. They are known to be extremely noisy during flight. They are also important pollinators of flowers, especially in South Africa. Tabanids occur worldwide, being absent only at extreme northern and southern latitudes. Flies of this type are among those known sometimes as gadflies, zimbs or clegs. In Australia, they are known as "march flies"; elsewhere this term refers to the unrelated dipteran family Bibionidae. [more]

Vermileonidae

The family Vermileonidae (the sole member of the infraorder Vermileonomorpha) is a small family of uncertain affinities and unusual biology, containing fewer than 80 rare species in 10 genera. The larvae of vermileonids are called wormlions and have evolved the same elaborate feeding behavior as is seen in the Neuropteran family Myrmeleontidae, or the "ant-lions"; that is, they make cone-shaped "pits" in sandy areas and feed on insects that fall into the pits. They are, like ant-lions, primarily found in desert or other sandy habitats, and are voracious predators. The adults are small, slender, and fragile flies, vaguely reminiscent of small crane flies. [more]

Xylomyidae

Xylomyidae or wood soldier flies is a family of associated with dead or dying wood (xylophagous). [more]

At least 157 species and subspecies belong to the Family Xylomyidae.

More info about the Family Xylomyidae may be found here.

Sources

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Last Revised: September 22, 2009
2009/09/22 10:12:19