Diptera

Taxonomy

The order Diptera includes all flies. Most of the flies we found in Bee Atlas blocks were in the families Calliphoridae, Bombyliidae, or Tachinidae. If you see Diptera genera listed in your block results, we were not able to identify the specimen to family, genus, or species because it was partial or damaged.

Description

Unlike most insects, flies have only one pair of wings. The hind pair of wings have evolved into a structure called a "haltere" which helps a fly with equilibrium. The presence of halteres are a reliable way to identify adult diptera.

Nest Structure

No information at this time.

Hole Sizes

No information at this time.

Voltinism

No information at this time.

Activity Period

No information at this time.

References

Triplehorn, C.A and N.F. Johnson. 2005. Borror and DeLong's introduction to the study of insects, 7th ed. Thomson, Brooks/Cole, Australia.