| Hangingfly | |
|---|---|
| Hylobittacus apicalis, Michigan, USA | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Mecoptera |
| Infraorder: | Raptipeda |
| Family: | Bittacidae Handlirsch, 1906 |
| Genera | |
|
see text |
|
| [[|Diversity]] | |
| 16 genera, ca. 170 species | |
Bittacidae is a family of scorpionflies commonly called Hangingflies or hanging scorpionflies.
The genus Bittacus, comprising approximately 75 percent of all species within the family, occurs worldwide. Other genera are mostly confined to South America or Australia. Members of this family may be confused with crane flies, in the order Diptera, but can be distinguished by their two pairs of wings and lack of haltere.
This list is based on The World Checklist of extant Mecoptera Species.[1] Presumably complete up to 1997, it is updated as needed. The number of species in each genus are in parentheses. A number of extinct(†) genera have been described from the fossil record.