Conopidae

Definition

A family of parasitic flies (Diptera: Brachycera) commonly called thick-headed flies, sole members of the superfamily Conopoidea. Adults are typically wasp mimics with black-and-yellow or black-and-white patterning, often found at flowers feeding on nectar with an elongate proboscis. Larvae are endoparasitoids of Hymenoptera, particularly bees and wasps, with the female fly forcibly inserting an egg into the host's abdomen during flight. The family comprises approximately 800 described species in 47 genera worldwide, excluding polar regions and most Pacific islands.

Etymology

From Greek konops (mosquito, gnat) + -idae (family suffix)

Example

Conopids such as Physocephala tibialis are specialist parasitoids of bumble bees (Bombus); the fly larva consumes the host from within, eventually killing it and pupating in the soil beneath the colony.

Synonyms

• Thick-headed flies

Related Terms

• Diptera
• Brachycera
• endoparasitoid
• mimicry
• Syrphidae
• Hymenoptera
• Proboscis
• Conopoidea

Usage Notes

Conopidae is treated as plural in formal taxonomic usage (the family Conopidae), though individual species are conopids (singular: conopid). Distinguished from similar-looking Syrphidae by the conopid's characteristic humpbacked thorax, elongated proboscis, and reduced wing venation. The parasitic lifestyle is often not apparent from adult morphology; field identification relies on the distinctive head shape—broad and often concave posteriorly, giving the 'thick-headed' appearance.