| Spear-winged flies | |
|---|---|
| Lonchoptera lutea | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Section: | Aschiza |
| Superfamily: | Platypezoidea |
| Family: | Lonchopteridae Curtis, 1839 |
| Diversity | |
| 4 living genera | |
| Synonyms | |
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Lonchopteridae (spear-winged flies or pointed-wing flies) are a family of small (2–5 mm), slender, yellow to brownish-black Diptera, occurring all over the world. Their common name refers to their pointed wings, which have a distinct venation. Most are bisexual; males are very rare however at least in North American species, and have a somewhat different venation than do the females.[1][2]
Spear-winged flies are common in moist, shady, grassy areas, where the larvae are found within decaying vegetation. One species, Lonchoptera bifurcata, is cosmopolitan in distribution, and may have been transported via shipments of vegetables.[1][2]
They are usually placed in the superfamily of flat-footed flies and allies (Platypezoidea). If the Platypezoidea are restricted to the flat-footed flies sensu stricto, the spear-winged flies are united with the Ironomyiidae and the coffin and scuttle flies (Phoridae) as Phoroidea. More rarely, they are treated as monotypic superfamily Lonchopteroidea.
There are four living genera in this family, encompassing some 50 described species altogether:[3]
Two fossil genera of spear-winged flies have been described:[3]