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For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
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Family Heleomyzidae

Representative Images

fly - Amoebaleria helvola - female heleomyzid fly - Amoebaleria defessa Unknown Fly - Trixoscelis melanderi - female Heleomyzidae? - Pseudoleria Trixoscelis nuda complex? - Trixoscelis Suillia - Suillia barberi Swine Fly - Lateral - Suillia plumata - male Fly 6-7mm - Acantholeria armipes - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Acalyptratae")
Superfamily Sphaeroceroidea
Family Heleomyzidae

Other Common Names

Sun Flies, Heleomyzid Flies, Spiny-winged Flies

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Helomyzidae, Heteromyzidae, Trixoscelidae(1)
reviewed in (2)

Explanation of Names

Heleomyzidae Westwood, 1840 (sometimes attributed to Bezzi, 1911)
The English name "Sun Flies" probably comes from a mistranslation of the scientific name, confusing the Ancient Greek heleos (of the marsh) with helios (sun).

Numbers

113 spp. in 34 genera in our area(3), ~740 spp. in 76 genera total(4)

Size

2-7.5 mm(3)

Identification

Small or medium-sized flies with prominent hairs
antennae aristate (bristle projecting upward), with three segments, the third segment short and rounded
vibrissae present
costa usually with prominent spines
middle tibia with preapical dorsal bristle

Range

most diverse in the Holarctic Region

Habitat

Usually in shaded areas, typically near rotting matter (compost, dung, carrion etc.) or fungi; some associated with caves(5) or bird/mammal nests(3)

Season

Tend to be common in early spring and late fall; some species may appear in winter, even in northern areas(5)

See Also

Scathophagidae and Sciomyzidae may look superficially similar

Works Cited

1.A Dictionary of Entomology
George Gordh, David H. Headrick. 2003. CABI Publishing.
2.The heleomyzid flies of America north of Mexico (Diptera: Heleomyzidae)
Gill, G.D. 1962. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 113: 495-603.
3.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
4.Order Diptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang Z.-Q. (ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification...
Pape T., Blagoderov V., Mostovski M.B. 2011. Zootaxa 3148: 222–229.
5.Insects: Their Natural History And Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America
Stephen A. Marshall. 2006. Firefly Books Ltd.
Contributed by Joel Kits on 11 March, 2005 - 9:42pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Keith Bayless, Aaron Schusteff, v belov, Chris Angell
Last updated 24 April, 2024 - 9:18am

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