Family Apsilocephalidae

Head not hemispherical, vertex not or only slightly concave, eyes usually holoptic in male, eyes usually bare, 3 ocelli present on vertex or slightly anterior to vertex, ocellar tubercle usually elevated above dorsal level of eyes, antennae sometimes set on frontal protuberance, scape usually setose, pedicel usually with a ring or two of short setae, first flagellomere at most with setae on basal third, stylus of 1-2 segments and a terminal or subterminal bristle, set apically or subapically on basal flagellomere, elongate and prominent in some genera, almost undetectable in others, face relatively short, sometimes hairy but without a mystax, lateral face hairy, post ocular setae usually present, palpus hairy and not prominent, proboscis short and stout to long and slender, usually dull pruinose, labella usually well-developed and conspicuous; hypopharynx not protrusible and developed for piercing

Scutellum prominent, often without hairs, 1 pair of postalar setae, 1-6 pairs of notopleural setae, 1-2 pairs of supra alar setae, 5 or more pairs of dorsocentral setae, usually 0-3 pairs of scutellar setae, rarely 4

Femora bare to heavily setose, tibiae and tarsi setulose in longitudinal rows, fore tibiae lacking anteroventral setae, claw with 2 pulvilli and a seta-like central empodium, or with empodium absent

Wing with branches of M not peculiarly curved, but if forwardly bent then not ending freely in wing margin, spurious vein undeveloped, C usually continuing around wing, R4+5 usually furcate, wing with cell bm truncate distally and with four corners from which arise four separate veins, namely M1+2, M3, CuA1, CuA2, M1 usually not curved forward in a crossvein-like manner, but if so then joining a furcate R4+5, base of cell m3 truncate, CuA2 reaching wing margin near A1 or or joining A1 near wing margin

Male aedeagus long and coiled, with articulated surstyli