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Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
Details...
 
Photos from the last gathering (Minnesota 2007)

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Family Fanniidae

Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon (Calyptratae)
Superfamily Muscoidea
Family Fanniidae
Numbers
Nearctica lists 113 species in 4 genera.
Size
Adults are medium-sized to small.
Range
Mostly of Holarctic and temperate Neotropical regions.
Habitat
Larvae live as scavengers in various kinds of decaying organic matter.
Remarks
Males congregate in characteristic dancing swarms beneath trees; females are more retiring in habit.