The Brachycera are a
suborder of the order
Diptera.
It is a major suborder consisting of around 120
families.
Their most distinguishing characteristic is reduced
antenna segmentation.
Description
A summary of the main physical characteristics is:
*
Antenna size (with eight or fewer
flagellomeres) is reduced. In many species the third segment, the flagellum, is fused, except from a bristle called the
arista that is sticking out from the fused flagellum. The arista consist of no more than three segments called aristomeres.
* The
maxillary palp (an elongated appendage near the mouth) has two segments or fewer.
* The back portions of the larval head capsule extend into the
prothorax (the anterior part of the thorax, which bears the first pair of legs).
* Two distinct parts make up of the larval
mandible
In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla).
The jawbone i ...
(lower jaw).
* The
epandrium and
hypandrium of the
genitalia are separated in males.
* No
premandible is present on the lower surface of the
labrum (the roof of the mouth).
* The configuration of the CuA2 and A1
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
veins is distinct.
Brachyceran flies can also be distinguished through behavior. Many of the species are
predator
Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
s or
scavengers.
Classification
The structure of subgroups within the Brachycera is a source of much confusion and controversy; many of the names used historically (e.g.,
Orthorrhapha) have not been used in decades, but still persist in textbooks, checklists, faunal catalogs, and other sources. Additionally, most recent classifications no longer use the Linnaean ranks for taxa (e.g., the
Tree of Life Web Project), and this creates its own set of problems.
See also
*
Larger brachycera
References
External links
The Tree of Life Web Project: BrachyceraBrachycera images
{{Authority control
Insect suborders
Taxa described in 1842