Canacidae, incorrectly Canaceidae, or beach flies, surf or surge flies, is a family of

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...

. As of 2010, 307 species in 27 genera. The family now includes Tethininae as a subfamily. Canacidae wing veins-1

Family description

For terms see

Morphology of Diptera Dipteran morphology differs in some significant ways from the broader insect morphology, morphology of insects. The Diptera is a very large and diverse Order (biology), order of mostly small to medium-sized insects. They have prominent compound ey ...

. Minute (1.6–5 mm) yellow, grey or grey-brown

pruinose Pruinescence , or pruinosity, is a "frosted" or dusty-looking coating on top of a surface. It may also be called a pruina (plural: ''pruinae''), from the Latin word for hoarfrost. The adjectival form is pruinose . Entomology In insects, a "bloom" ...

flies with whitish to greyish markings. The head is large with small antenna bearing bare to pubescent arista. The "mouth" is a large oval opening. There are three or four pairs of orbital bristles on the head directed outward (inset upswept). Postvertical bristles are absent but diverging pseudopostocellar bristles are present. Other head bristles present are ocellar bristles, 2-5 pairs of frontal bristles, curving outward, interfrontal bristles and vibrissae ("whiskers"). The genae are high with 1 or more upcurving bristles. Tibiae are without a dorsal preapical bristle. The wing is unmarked in almost all species. The costa has a subcostal break; the subcosta is parallel to vein R1 and merging with that vein just before the costa. Tibiae without dorsal preapical bristle. Se

Drawings of ''Canace''.

Classification

Biology

Canacidae are mostly Intertidal zone, intertidal flies. They are found along sea coasts, on the surface of small water bodies, saline and fresh, at places protected from wind. They feed on

Infusoria Infusoria is a word used to describe various freshwater microorganisms, including ciliates, copepods, Euglena, euglenoids, planktonic crustaceans, protozoa, unicellular algae and small invertebrates. Some authors (e.g., Otto Bütschli, Bütschli) ...

and other minute organisms.

References

External links

*http://www.diptera.info/downloads/Munari_Almeida_Andrade_2009.pdf Munari, Almeida, Andrade Description of a new species of ''Tethina'' Excellent photos.
Diptera.info
Images * Canacidae in Italian *

Encyclopedia of Life The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It aggregates content to form "pages" for every known species. Content is compiled from existing trusted ...

World taxa list {{Taxonbar, from=Q140403 Brachycera families