Among the 33 modern orders of insects, the Diptera order occupies one of the first places in terms of abundance and diversity of representatives, yielding in this respect only to beetles, butterflies and hymenoptera. To date, 80,000 species are known in this order. Undoubtedly, in the near future this figure will increase significantly, since the study of Diptera is still very far from being completed.

The main features that separated Diptera from other orders of insects are, firstly, the preservation in the adult stage of only the first pair of wings - the organs of fast and perfect flight, and, secondly, the radical transformation of the larval stage, expressed in the loss of legs, and in higher Diptera also in the reduction of the head capsule and, ultimately, in the development of extraintestinal digestion.

The body shape of adult dipterans is very diverse. Everyone knows slender long-legged mosquitoes and stocky short-bodied flies. The organs of vision - large compound eyes - in Diptera often occupy most of the surface of their rounded head. Additionally, on the crown there are, although not all, 2-3 dotted eyes.

Antennae, or antennae, are located on the frontal surface of the head, between the eyes. In mosquitoes, they are long, multi-segmented, which is one of the most distinct features that distinguish the suborder of the Long-whiskered Diptera. In flies belonging to the other two suborders, the antennae are greatly shortened and usually consist of only three short segments, the last of which bears a simple or pinnate bristle. Antennae are mainly organs of perception of smells. On the surface of each of the segments there are olfactory tubercles specially adapted for this purpose. Often, the antennae of male Diptera are much more complex than those of females.

The mouthparts of Diptera are highly modified and are suitable for taking mainly liquid food. The most perfect adaptation for this is the proboscis of higher flies, formed by the lower lip and ending in sucking lobes.

In blood-sucking mosquitoes, the mouth parts are strongly elongated, the lower lip forms a groove in which piercing stylets are located: needle-shaped upper jaws (mandibles) and lower jaws (maxillas). Between them is the subglottis, through which the duct of the salivary glands passes.

Three thoracic segments of Diptera are tightly soldered together, forming a strong thoracic region - a receptacle for powerful muscles. It serves as a reliable support for the wings during fast flight. Halteres are also located here - short club-shaped appendages, which are a modified second pair of wings. They are considered organs of balance. The mesothorax - the most powerful thoracic segment - is equipped with a semicircular outgrowth - a shield on the posterior edge.

The structure of the legs of Diptera is closely related to their way of life. Movable, fast-running flies have short strong legs. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, usually hiding among the vegetation during the day, have long limbs adapted for climbing among the interweaving of grass stalks or in the foliage of trees and shrubs. The paws of the legs end in claws, at the base of which 2-3 special suction pads are attached. With their help, Diptera can move freely on a completely smooth surface.

The forms of the larval stages of Diptera, their feeding methods and habitats are extremely diverse. It is not uncommon for adult Diptera to live solely on the nutrients that the larva has accumulated and do not feed at all. For other species it is enough to drink water, flower nectar or sweet juice flowing from injured trees. But not all adult Diptera are so harmless. Mosquitoes, horseflies, biting midges, midges, mosquitoes are annoying bloodsuckers�첎￳ 19 ｀ 19 ＀庠９ￗ�첎￳ 19 ｀ 19 ＀庠９ￗ only part of the eggs or the supply of nutrients is not enough at all.

Diptera are one of the most numerous groups of insects and therefore represent a great force of nature. And this force, if we evaluate the importance of Diptera as a whole, causes enormous damage not only to the economy, but also to human health.

Science and technology

Sexual dimorphism. One of the amazing phenomena often found in Diptera is sexual dimorphism, i.e. significant differences in appearance between males and females of the same species. For example, as noted above, males of many species have compound eyes that are holoptic; are in contact with each other, while in females they are separated by a frontal stripe (dichoptic). In female mosquitoes, the antennae are slightly pubescent, while in males they are densely covered with long hairs. Sexual dimorphism can also be expressed in size: males are usually smaller. In females of some species, wings are absent or greatly reduced, while in males they are normally developed. In one of the families of Diptera, in females, two veins of the wing merge at its edge, and in rare males, they are separated throughout. In another group, the legs, antennae, or other body parts of males often bear tufts of hairs with a metallic sheen, absent in females. The legs of the males of some mosquitoes are trimmed with a wide scaly fringe; females do not have it. Differences between the sexes in coloration are common, but usually not conspicuous. However, sometimes this difference is quite significant; for example, males of one American weevils are pale rufous, while females are nearly black.

Mimicry and protective coloration. Many species of harmless Diptera are strikingly similar in appearance to other insects, especially bees and wasps, which man and probably other animals try to avoid. This phenomenon is called mimicry. Its typical example is the appearance of a row of hoverflies; they are so similar to wasps that even an entomologist does not always immediately correctly identify an insect. Other hoverflies mimic the appearance of bees. Some flies are more or less like bumblebees. This similarity is also reflected in the dipteran nomenclature: the whole family Bombyliidae (buzzers) is named in Latin after bumblebees ( bombbus); there are bee hoverflies, bumblebee-like hoverfly, hornet-like hoverfly, etc.; one of the ktyr genera is called Bombomima("imitating bumblebees").

Some Diptera avoid predators with the help of patronizing, i.e. camouflage, coloring. The dark color of mushroom gnats makes them invisible when they sit motionless in crevices under fallen trees. Other Diptera have a "dismembering" coloration. For example, in liriopids, bright black and white stripes on the body are arranged in such a way that these insects, flying against a light or dark background, look just like sets of spots that do not add up to a single whole.

LIFE CYCLE Like other higher insects, life cycle Diptera is complex and includes complete metamorphosis. The eggs of most species are oblong and light. They hatch into larvae, usually elongated, roughly cylindrical, soft-bodied and legless. In most cases, the hard parts of the head are greatly reduced; such worm-like larvae are called maggots. The larva feeds intensively and periodically molts as it grows. The number of larval molts in Diptera varies, but usually there are two or three. Then comes the pupal stage. In some Diptera, it is formed inside the larval skin, which turns into the so-called. "puparia". In the end, the pupal shell is torn, and a adult insect(imago).

Life cycle of a house fly. On the example of a house fly, one can trace the course of development of Diptera. To lay eggs, the female seeks out accumulations of decaying organic matter, such as dung or garbage heaps. Thus, the fly instinctively leaves the clutch where the inactive larva will be provided with a sufficient amount of food. At one time, the female can lay 120 or slightly more narrow whitish eggs of approx. 1 mm long. Their huge masses are found in places where several females leave their clutches at the same time. At summer temperatures of 2435 ° C, the development of eggs takes approx. 8 ocloc'k. The worm-like larvae hatched from them are approx. 2 mm begin to eat greedily. They grow so fast that the first molt occurs after 24-36 hours, and the second one about a day later. The larva in the third stage feeds for another 7296 hours and grows to a length of approx. 12 mm, and then pupates.

An oblong pupa is formed inside the last larval skin, which becomes the pupal sheath (puparium). This shell changes its off-white color to brown and hardens. Within 4–5 days, inside the externally inactive pupa, the larval tissues disintegrate and rearrange, forming the structures of an adult insect. In the end, the imago comes out with the help of a special frontal bladder, which, under the pressure of the “blood” (hemolymph) injected into it, protrudes into the frontal part of the head. Under its pressure, the “lid” of the puparia opens, releasing an adult insect. It crawls out of the decaying debris or soil in which pupation has occurred, spreads its initially crumpled wings and flies away to feed and mate, starting a new life cycle.

Another curious form of reproduction found in some Diptera is pedogenesis, i.e. the appearance of offspring in outwardly immature individuals. So, in gall midges, an adult female lays only 4 or 5 eggs, from which large larvae are formed. Within each of them, from 5 to 30 (depending on the species and individual) daughter larvae develop. They feed on the mother's body and then reproduce themselves in the same way. After several such cycles, the next larvae pupate, and a generation of adults is formed. Reproduction of larvae occurs without mating. This development of unfertilized eggs is called parthenogenesis. This phenomenon in the absence of pedogenesis has been found in other Diptera, for example, in some midges. Females lay unfertilized eggs, from which only females emerge. Parthenogenesis can be cyclic, continuous or sporadic. See BREEDING;

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION On land, there is, perhaps, no such corner where Diptera would not live. This is the most common order of insects, although the ranges of many of its families are not fully known. Each of the large zoographic regions is characterized by its own set of taxa, but the genera and families to which they belong can be cosmopolitan, i.e. meet almost everywhere. About two dozen species of Diptera are also cosmopolitan. Approximately half of them were unwittingly settled all over the planet by man. These species include the ubiquitous housefly, the peeper mosquito ( Culex pipiens), gastric horse gadfly and autumn zhigalka. Among the approximately 130 Diptera families, less than 20 are truly cosmopolitan, although the ranges of many others are not much narrower; they are distributed subcosmopolitan.

Diptera abound in the humid tropics. The distribution of most families of this natural area and is limited, while many others reach their maximum diversity and abundance here. In temperate or cold regions, there are fewer species of Diptera per unit area, but the number of their individuals is often not lower than in the tropics. In the windswept Arctic desert, on the tops of the mountains and among the dunes, where harsh climatic conditions do not suit most insects, Diptera remain the most prominent representatives of this group of invertebrates. In the north of Greenland, a few hundred kilometers from North Pole, there are centipedes, carrion flies, flower girls, bells and mushroom mosquitoes. On the other side of the Earth, on the Antarctic islands, there are several species of midges, hoverflies, weevils, gall midges and some other groups. In Antarctica itself, only one species of wingless mosquito has so far been recorded, but it is likely that other diptera will be found there.

Diptera of mainland islands are usually close to those living on the nearest continents, but on more isolated oceanic islands, even though they belong to widespread groups, they are often very peculiar. Apparently, a single, accidental hit of some species on such islands in the distant past led in the course of evolution to the appearance of a whole set of various forms. This can explain, for example, the fact that almost a third of the 246 Hawaiian Diptera species belong to just one family.

ECOLOGY Possessing thin covers, most Diptera are not able to effectively retain water in the body. They would be in constant danger of desiccation if they did not live in more or less humid conditions. Although the larvae are in many cases aquatic, adults are almost always terrestrial. The only exception sea striders Limonia monostromia, whose entire life cycle takes place in warm sea waters off the coast of Japan.

Larvae. The habitats of Diptera larvae are much more diverse than those of adults, and include almost all types. ecological niches. Some attack aphids or gnaw on the leaves of mosses and other plants, i.e. live openly. However, in most cases, they develop in the thickness of a moist substrate, for example, inside the leaves, stems and roots of plants. The larvae of many species burrow through decaying wood, fungi, or soil, feeding on organic debris or microscopic invertebrates.

Often they live in stagnant and flowing bodies of water of any size, where they feed on vegetation, microorganisms, or insects of other species. Most of these aquatic larvae prefer shallow places, but in some bell mosquitoes they dive to depths of more than 300 m. If their development requires a good supply of oxygen, they attach themselves to the stones of river rapids or mountain streams. The larvae and pupae of some Diptera prefer waters with a high content of alkalis or salts, and in one Californian species they live in oil pools. Others are found in hot springs and geysers, where the water temperature reaches 50 ° C. The larvae of one of the mosquitoes survive even in the liquid that fills the pitcher leaves carnivorous plants where other insects drown and digest.

EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY Judging by the fossil finds, insects already existed in the Devonian period, i.e. OK. 300 million years ago. However, until the Upper Triassic (about 160 million years ago), the remains of Diptera were not found among them. The most primitive representatives of this order are similar to long-legged and united in the extinct family Architipulidae. Many different Diptera, close to modern forms, found in Baltic amber resin coniferous trees, petrified in the Upper Oligocene, i.e. about 35 million years ago. In the Miocene shales from Florissant, Colorado, many fossil centipedes, mushroom mosquitoes, and other Diptera, characteristic of swampy habitats, have been found. Among them, even the tsetse fly is noted, although at present this genus is found only in Africa. The study of Baltic amber and fossils of Florissant showed that by the middle of the Cenozoic era Diptera had passed most of their evolutionary development.

SIGNIFICANCE IN HUMAN LIFE Many species of Diptera are best known as disease vectors, annoying bloodsuckers, and crop pests. The most effective chemical methods of dealing with them, however, even latest insecticides cannot be considered a panacea, since insects quickly acquire resistance to them (resistance).

carriers of human diseases. Listed below are just some of the medically important Diptera.

Housefly mechanically transfers pathogens of bacterial dysentery; it is possible that it can also spread the bacteria of typhoid, paratyphoid, cholera and polio virus.

horseflies can transmit from an infected animal pathogens of tularemia, as well as one of the filariasis loiasis.

cereal flies from the genus hippelates, feeding near the eyes, they easily introduce a bacterium into them that causes acute epidemic conjunctivitis.

Bloodsucking. Blood-sucking dipterans, even if they are not carriers of diseases, such as biting midges, autumn stilettos, many mosquitoes and midges, in a mass attack worsen human health, causing itching and allergic reactions, drastically reducing performance. In addition, all of these species remain potential carriers of pathogens.

Pests of agricultural plants. Compared with beetles, butterflies, herbivorous bugs, and representatives of some other orders of insects, Diptera cause relatively little harm to agricultural plants. Representatives of only 5-6 families have a certain significance in this sense. Serious pests of cereals include the Hessian fly from the family of gall midges. This species damages mainly wheat, but is also dangerous for barley and rye. Hessian fly larvae feed on plant sap at the base of the stems, causing them to stun and lodging. With the development of wheat varieties resistant to such damage, the importance of this agricultural pest has decreased. The variegated family includes many species that feed on the succulent fruits of various plants, but only a few of them cause serious damage. Thus, the larvae of the apple moth spoil apples, damage the fruits of citrus and other fruit trees, significantly reducing the yield. Larvae of other Diptera gnaw out passages in various plants. As an example, three species from the family of flower girls can be cited: sprout, cabbage spring and onion flies. Representatives of the family of cereal flies, living in many parts of the world, harm cereal crops.

CLASSIFICATION Diptera order is divided according to different systems, into 121138 families, which are grouped into two or three suborders. The classification most often uses such features as venation of the wings, the length of the antennae and the number of segments in them, the number and arrangement of setae and spines on the body and legs, the configuration of the external genital appendages, the presence or absence of simple ocelli, and the shape of the opening through which the imago leaves the pupal skin or puparia. The color, size and shape of the body do not always make it possible to judge the degree of relationship, because natural selection often leads to an outward resemblance of representatives of very distant groups. The scheme proposed below, which includes only the most important families, is only one of possible ways classification of approximately 100 thousand species of Diptera; the number of species in families is approximate.

Suborder Nematocera(long-haired). These insects are characterized by long antennae with more than three segments. The group includes 36 families. The antennae in adults consist of 6 or more approximately identical, movably connected segments, and the mandibular palps usually consist of 4 or 5. The larvae have a well-developed dark-colored head capsule. The pupa is not enclosed in a larval skin; puparia is not formed.

Tipulidae (long-legged): 10,000 species, cosmopolitan.

Psychodidae (butterflies): 400 species, sub-cosmopolitans.

Chironomidae (bells, or jerks): 2000 species, cosmopolitans.

Ceratopogonidae (midges): 1500 species, subcosmopolitans.

Culicidae (true mosquitoes): 1600 species, cosmopolitan.

Mycetophilidae (fungi gnats): 2400 species, cosmopolitans.

Cecidomyiidae (gall midges): 4500 species, subcosmopolitans.

Bibionidae (pasties): 500 species, mainly in Eurasia and North America.

Simuliidae (midges): 600 species, subcosmopolitan, but especially numerous in Eurasia, North and South America.

Blepharoceridae (Reticulata): 75 species, found in the highlands.

Suborder Brachycera(short-whiskered) includes approximately 100 families. The antennae of adult insects consist of three segments, of which the last (distal) segment is thickened and bears an appendage in the form of a bristle or rod on the dorsal side or apex. Palpi with one or two segments. The head of the larva is poorly formed or rudimentary. In representatives of some families (straight-seam), the pupa is free; in other cases (circular Diptera) it develops inside the puparium.

Tabanidae (gadflies): 3000 species, mainly in the tropics and subtropics.

Stratiomyiidae (lionfish): 1500 species, subcosmopolitan.

Rhagionidae (snipes): 500 species, mainly in North America and Eurasia.

Nemestrinidae (long-proboscis): 250 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mainly in Central and North Africa.

Bombyliidae (Buzzers): 2000 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mainly in North America and the Mediterranean.

Asilidae (Ktyrs): 5000 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but most diverse in the tropics.

Mydaidae: 200 species, distributed in many but isolated regions.

Dolichopodidae (greenfinches): 2000 species, cosmopolitans.

Empididae (pushers): 3000 species, mainly in Eurasia, North and South America.

Phoridae (humpbacks): 1000 species, mainly in the tropics.

Platypezidae (mushroom flies): 100 species, mainly in Eurasia and North America.

Pipunculidae: 400 species, mostly on the northern continents.

Syrphidae (Hoverflies): 4000 species, sub-cosmopolitans.

Conopidae (bigheads): 500 species, subcosmopolitans.

Ortalidae (spotflies): 1200 species, cosmopolitan but especially abundant in the tropics.

Trypetidae (stripedflies): 2000 species, mainly in the tropics and subtropics.

Sciomyzidae (tennis): 200 species, mainly in the northern continents and southeast Asia.

Drosophilidae ( fruit flies): 750 species, subcosmopolitans.

Ephydridae (shorebirds): 800 species, mainly in Eurasia and North America.

Chloropidae (grass flies): 1200 species, cosmopolitan.

Agromyzidae (mining flies): 1000 species, cosmopolitan but especially abundant in Eurasia.

Anthomyiidae (flower girls): 3000 species, cosmopolitans.

Calliphoridae (carrion flies): 500 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mostly in the Northern Hemisphere.

Sarcophagidae (grey blowflies): 1000 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mostly in the tropics.

Muscidae (true flies): 150 species, cosmopolitan.

Tachinidae (Hedgehogs): 5,000 species, cosmopolitan but most diverse in the tropics.

Oestridae (nasopharyngeal gadflies): 150 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mostly in warm areas.

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Who is the representative of Diptera insects, you will learn from this article.

Diptera: representatives

Diptera representatives of the order of invertebrates, class of insects. They are distinguished by the presence of a fashionable pair of wings, complete metamorphosis. More is known today 100,000 species.

Diptera representatives- flies, mosquitoes, midges, horseflies. They are distributed throughout the tundra to the deserts of the tropics. According to archaeological excavations, Diptera lived in the Jurassic period.

They are not social insects, rarely stray into flocks - only for rest, mating, and in case of a large number food. Most lead a solitary lifestyle.

What insects belong to the order Diptera?

Representatives of Diptera are united into several groups: butterflies; mosquitoes and midges; centipedes; lions; pachyderms and mushroom mosquitoes; stem-eaters; dung and house flies; humpbacks; hoverflies; horseflies; balls; gadflies and tahini. Detachment Diptera representatives, which are widespread in nature:

We hope that from this article you have learned who is the representative of Diptera insects.

The Diptera order includes insects, the most characteristic feature of which is the presence of one, front pair of wings (rarely there are no wings at all). In place of the second, posterior pair, there are halteres, small mobile appendages of the metathorax. These peculiar club-shaped organs are preserved, with the rarest exception, in wingless forms, which makes it possible to easily identify such insects before ordering.

Adult sizes vary greatly - some species reach 30-50 mm in length, while others do not exceed 1 mm in length. There are two main types of body structure in Diptera. Insects with a narrow abdomen, long legs and long multi-segmented antennae are called mosquitoes, and those with a relatively wide abdomen, short legs and short three-segmented antennae are called flies. Large eyes located on the sides of the head may touch on the forehead, especially in males, while in females they are usually separated by a frontal stripe, although in some families (for example, buzzards) touching eyes are characteristic of both males and females. The antennae, or antennae, are attached to the front of the head, and not at the top, as in most insects of other orders. In mosquitoes they are multi-segmented (more than 6 segments), in flies they are three-segmented. intermediate type between the polysegmented and the three-segmented is the antenna, in which the third segment is divided into several rings, the so-called annular segment. In flies, the third (last) segment often bears a special appendage (aristu) in the form of a stick or bristle. The arista may be located on the top of the third segment or on its dorsal surface; usually it is two- or three-membered. The mouth organs of dipterans are a proboscis, long or short, thin or thickened, soft retractable or hard non-retractable. According to the method of eating, two types of proboscis are distinguished. The first type is piercing-sucking, like in blood-sucking mosquitoes, the second is licking-sucking, like in a housefly. In both the first and second cases, various kinds of changes in the structure of the proboscis are possible, and then, for example, a cutting-sucking proboscis arises, like in a horsefly, or a boring proboscis, like in a blood-sucking fly.

The thoracic region consists of three rings tightly fused together. The prothorax and metathorax in most Diptera are not wide, sometimes hardly noticeable when viewed from above. Almost the entire dorsal surface of the chest is occupied by the largest mesothorax. And this is quite understandable, since the only pair of wings in Diptera is attached to it, and it contains wing muscles. The wings themselves are membranous, vitreous-transparent, sometimes smoky or brownish or with various dark patterns in the form of spots or stripes. The system of longitudinal veins or their derivatives is well developed on the wings. The number of transverse veins is small. Features of wing venation are important in determining families and genera. In determining many groups of Diptera, the position on the body and the number of some setae are no less important. The abdomen consists of 4-10 visible segments. The terminal segments of the abdomen of the male are transformed into a complex reproductive apparatus. The females of a number of families have a rather long, well-marked sclerotized ovipositor; in many flies, the last segments of the abdomen form a retractable (telescopic) ovipositor.

Diptera are one of the largest detachments in terms of the number of species (there are over 200,000 of them in the world fauna). Many families (about 100 out of 180 included in the order) are found on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. About 40 families are distributed on no more than two continents. And only a small part of them is represented by species that are sharply limited in their distribution - typical endemics. Diptera appeared in the geological record of the Earth in the Mesozoic. The oldest imprints of their wings are attributed to the Triassic. The evolution of the order proceeded at such a rapid pace that already in the Paleogene the fauna of Diptera was in many respects similar to the modern one.

Diptera have complete metamorphosis. Their life cycle consists of the stages of egg, larva (several instars), pupa and adult insect, or imago. Most adult Diptera gravitate in our latitudes to biotopes with moderate and even high humidity. For this reason, they prefer to stay in thickets of shrubs, among the herbs of meadows, along the banks of reservoirs. Only a part of the families have developed adaptations to life in arid landscapes.

Many flies and mosquitoes are excellent flyers, capable of covering considerable distances (sometimes up to several tens of kilometers).

Small species rise high above the ground when settling with air flows and move over long distances together with air masses, forming a noticeable group in the composition of aeroplankton. Many Diptera have not only the ability to fly long distances, but also high flight speed (some horseflies reach speeds of up to 60-70 km / h) and excellent maneuverability. There are no equal hoverflies here, capable of hanging in the air for a long time, making throws forward, sideways and backward from time to time. Everyone knows the ability of Diptera to take off instantly, which is nothing more than an active flight from danger. Such a rapid lifting effect is provided by halteres. These flask-shaped rudiments of the hindwings, which act as a gyroscope when the insect moves, also oscillate very frequently. They provide the appropriate setting nervous system and the inclusion of the work of the wings immediately at full frequency, followed by a lightning-fast takeoff.

For the vast majority of mosquitoes and flies in temperate latitudes, the spring-summer months are the period of adult activity. But there are species and even entire families that are active in the cold season. Such are some greenfinches (Dolichopodidae) flying under the canopy of the forest in the thaw. All Trichoceridae are found in nature until late autumn. They can be seen in the snow in the middle of winter during mild frosts, for which they received Russian name winter mosquitoes, or winter mosquitoes. Similar activity is also characteristic of a number of other small families of higher flies.

During the breeding season, the behavior of individual groups of representatives of the detachment is characterized by considerable complexity. Everyone knows columnar clusters of insects on forest and country roads. These are swarms of mosquitoes from some families, in particular bells and blood-sucking mosquitoes. They are usually formed by males, which makes it easier for them to meet with females arriving at the sounds of a swarm. The males of many other Diptera, for the same purpose, gather in groups on various kinds of elevations in the area. In some species, territorial behavior is clearly expressed, when males defend parts of the territory from the invasion of other males. Often such a "site" is just a leaf of a tree or bush. Real battles for the female are also known. Males push each other with horn-like outgrowths on their heads (some tropical variegated flies) or exchange blows with their front legs, as do, for example, stilt-eye flies (Diopsidae), until one of the rivals takes flight.

Food and methods of obtaining it in Diptera adults are very diverse. But at the same time, all mosquitoes and flies are similar in one thing - regardless of the type of food, food enters the body in liquid form as a solution or suspension. Diptera have several main types of imaginal feeding. This is primarily nectarophagy. Many and many species of Diptera feed on nectar and (or) pollen. Close to nectarophages are also consumers of decaying plant residues (fruits, berries, vegetables) rich in microorganisms - phytosaprophages. Feeding adult Diptera on excrement (coprophagy) or decaying corpses (necrophagy) is a rather rare phenomenon, characteristic of only a few species. But predation, on the contrary, is widespread within the detachment. It is not uncommon for all members of the family to be predators. A fairly common type of nutrition is hematophagy, that is, feeding on the blood of vertebrates. Blood-sucking species are representatives of 12 families. And finally, within the order there are species that do not feed at all at the adult insect stage (aphagia). Many of them have no oral apparatus as such (for example, gadflies). A number of small mosquitoes, whose lifespan is estimated at several days, also apparently do not feed, although they have well-developed mouthparts. Some aphages include some detritus (Sciaridae), bells (Chironomidae), swamps (Limoniidae), etc.

All Diptera larvae are legless, often worm-like creatures. Leglessness is often compensated by ridge-like thickenings, tubercles, and hooked setae; sometimes on the ventral side there are outgrowths resembling pseudopods of sawfly larvae. Some larvae have a well-developed head, as in the larvae of many families of mosquitoes, in others it is partially reduced, for example, in horsefly larvae. In the third group, which is formed by higher flies, the head of the larvae is completely absent, there is only a head segment, which does not differ in color from the body segments.

Diptera, apparently, have mastered every conceivable aquatic habitat, far surpassing other insects in this respect. All types of freshwater reservoirs (from lakes and rivers to small puddles, micro-reservoirs in the axils of leaves, hollows of trees and pitchers carnivorous plants), water bodies with high acidity and high level mineral salts or organic pollution, hot springs, accumulations of water in the basements of houses or subway tunnels, warm waters coolers of nuclear power plants and gutters of livestock farms are inhabited by Diptera larvae. Some Diptera (several genera from the Chironomidae family of chiron mosquitoes) have also mastered the coastal zone. Forest litter, soil, wood at different stages of decomposition, decaying plant and animal remains, fungi, living tissues of plants and animals, etc. - all this is also mastered by the larvae of these insects. Most live inside the substrate, less often openly.

Diptera larvae's food relations are no less diverse. Within the main types of nutrition, a wide range of food specialization is observed. The method of processing food can also be very different, depending on the structure of the oral apparatus and the characteristics of digestion. Many species of Diptera (mainly flies) have developed extraintestinal digestion.

Among the main types of nutrition of larvae is feeding on decaying plant residues (saprophagy); while an important component of such a diet are various microorganisms and fungi, an indispensable component of a decaying substrate. It is very widespread among larvae and feeding on fruiting bodies and mycelium of the most various types fungi (mycetophagy). Feeding wood (xylophagy) occurs at different stages of its decomposition. In this case, the larvae of some groups develop in more or less dense, although partly decomposed wood, while other species are able to develop only in very loose, highly decomposed woody remains of stumps. Phytophagy, that is, feeding on living tissues of plants, is most widespread among the larvae of higher flies. The larvae mastered leaves, needles, tissues of stems, roots and root crops, rich in nutrients tissues of plant growth cones and tissues of developing fruits.

And, finally, another type of nutritional specialization of phytophages is the ability to cause the formation of galls, where the larva lives and completes its development. Coprophagia is also common among larvae - feeding on animal excrement, not only vertebrates, but also invertebrates. True, feeding on the excrement of invertebrates, and, consequently, living in their communities, has been poorly studied. There is much broader information about the relationships of larvae with the droppings of birds and mammals. Feeding on the corpses of vertebrates and invertebrates (necrophagy) is a common phenomenon for a number of larvae. In a large group of Diptera, the main type of feeding of larvae is predation. Another type of feeding of carnivorous larvae is parasitism. Some of them parasitize on invertebrates, others are associated with vertebrates, including humans.

Detachment Diptera, or flies (Diptera).

1) Complete transformation;

2) oral apparatus piercing-sucking, cutting-sucking, licking, well adapted to feeding on liquid food;

3) Running or walking legs;

4) One pair of wings, uniform, membranous (sometimes wingless). The hind pair of wings is presented in the form of a haltere - a club-shaped form of small formations attached to the metathorax;

5) Larvae are worm-like, legless, retaining the head capsule in the lower forms. Pupa open or hidden, in a false cocoon;

The order is divided into two suborders - long-whiskered and short-whiskered.

Suborder long-whiskers (Nematocera): characterized by long, multi-segmented antennae and an elongated, mosquito-shaped body. Larvae in most species with a fairly distinct head capsule, the pupa is free. When an adult fly emerges, the pupal shell is torn along the dorsal side of the body, i.e., along a straight seam.

real mosquitoes(sem. Culicidae) have long antennae and piercing-sucking mouthparts, no ocelli, wings with scales along the posterior margin and on the veins. Male mosquitoes feed on nectar or plant sap, while females of many species feed on the blood of humans and animals. Larvae and pupae live in stagnant water bodies, active. Malaria mosquitoes ( Anopheles) spread malaria.

mosquitoes(sem. Phlebotomidae) - small dipteran insects, the body length of which usually does not exceed 3 mm. The body is covered with hairs. Males suck plant sap. Females feed on the blood of humans and warm-blooded animals. Mosquito bites are very painful and cause itchy skin. They spread pathogens of a number of human diseases: leishmaniasis, summer flu (a disease such as temporary fever).

gall midges(sem. Cecidomyiidae) - small mosquitoes often with beaded long antennae, elongated body, long legs. Wings with few longitudinal veins and no transverse ones. Larvae of gall midges, settling in plant tissues, often cause the formation of growths - galls. Adults live only 2-3 days without feeding. The larvae of some species lead a predatory lifestyle, usually exterminating aphids and mites. Some species of gall midges cause significant damage to agricultural plants. Such, for example, is the Hessian fly ( Mayetiola destructor), the larva of which lives in the stems of cereals.

Long-legged(family Tipulidae) - large mosquito-like insects with very long legs, no eyes, mesothorax from above with a Y-shaped transverse suture, female with a hard true ovipositor. Larvae with a small head and short antennae, the body is bluntly chopped off behind with fleshy outgrowths; live in damp soil, in rotting plant debris, some in water, feeding on plant parts or decaying plant matter. Some species are serious pests (marsh weevil ( Tipula paludosa)).

Suborder short-whiskered (Brachycera): characterized by short, 3-segmented, often bristle-bearing antennae and a short stocky fly-like body. Larva without a pronounced head capsule, sometimes only with a rudimentary retractile head. Pupa with or without false cocoon. Among the short-skinned flies, there are straight-sutural flies, in which, like the long-skinned ones, the pupa shell is torn along a straight seam, and round-sutured flies, in which the pupa is hidden and the shell of the false cocoon opens from above in the form of a round cap.

Straight seam (Orthorrhapha)

horseflies(sem. Tabanidae) - large or medium-sized blood-sucking flies with huge iridescent eyes, a body without bristles, legs with 3 suckers. The larvae develop in water or near it, in damp soil, under stones. Flies are demanding on moisture. Horsefly bites disturb livestock. They are carriers of anthrax.

Ktyri(sem. Asilidae) - predatory large or medium-sized flies with a long abdomen, a body with bristles, paws with 2 suckers and a bristle between them. They hunt spiders and especially various insects - beetles, bees, dragonflies, locusts, etc. Some species exterminate up to 40-60% of harmful locusts, bringing undoubted benefits.

Circular (Cyclorrhapha)

Hoverflies, or flower flies(sem. Syrphidae) - medium-sized or large flies, often with yellow or other bright markings, usually with a naked body. R on wings with 3 branches, between R and M there is a false vein, there is a large anal cell. Some look like stinging hymenoptera - wasps and bees. Larvae with a hard or leathery cuticle, without clear segmentation, are diverse in their way of life: 1) herbivorous, live in plant tissues; 2) saprophages, live in decaying organic matter and in dirty water; 3) predators, keep openly on plants, exterminate aphids and larvae of other homoptera; 4) parasites in the nests of social insects (bees). Onion pests - onion hoverflies ( Eumerus strigatus).

psilides(sem. Psilidae) - small flies with a triangular head in profile, Sc on the wings is shortened, does not reach the break of the costal vein, there is an anal cell. The larvae are herbivorous, in the carrot fly (Psila rosae) they live in the roots of carrots and are very harmful.