The Diopsoidea are a small but diverse cosmopolitan superfamily of

acalyptrate muscoid The Acalyptratae or Acalyptrata are a subsection of the Schizophora, which are a section of the order Diptera, the "true flies". In various contexts the Acalyptratae also are referred to informally as the acalyptrate muscoids, or acalyptrates, a ...

s, especially prevalent in the tropics. Some flux exists in the family constituency of this group, with the

Strongylophthalmyiidae The Strongylophthalmyiidae are a small family of about 80 species of slender, long-legged flies, the majority of which occur in the Oriental and Australasian regions. They are divided into two genera, the monotypic Southeast Asian genus '' Nartshu ...

and

Tanypezidae The Tanypezidae, known as the “stretched-foot flies”, are small family of acalyptrate Diptera (Schizophora, Brachycera). The 28 species are found mostly in the New World, divided between two genera: ''Tanypeza'' (2 species) is found in North ...

formerly being in this group but now in the

Nerioidea Nerioidea is a superfamily of Acalyptratae flies. Description As flies, Nerioidea undergo complete metamorphosis with the four life stages of egg, larva, pupa and adult. The adult stage has three body segments (head, thorax and abdomen), thre ...

Description

As flies, Diopsoidea undergo complete metamorphosis with the four life stages of egg, larva, pupa and adult. The adult stage has three body segments (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of legs and one pair of wings. Some features that distinguish adult Diopsoidea from other flies are: a well-sclerotised face, antennae usually deflexed to strongly elbowed (if not, then either the fore or hind femur is entirely swollen), ocelli positioned near the vertex of the head, no katepisternal setae, wing veins R2+3 and R4+5 subparallel or slightly convergent apically, and the wing anal cell being comparable in size to the subcostal cell.

References

Diptera superfamilies {{Diopsoidea-stub