Diadocidiidae

Definition

A family of small fungus gnats (Diptera: Sciaroidea) containing one extant genus, Diadocidia, with more than 20 described species and one extinct genus. Adults are woodland flies 2.5–5.6 mm in length, typically found in shaded forest habitats or near streams. Larvae construct silken tubes beneath bark or within decaying logs and feed on the hymenial layer of bracket fungi (Polyporaceae). The family has a cosmopolitan distribution excluding Africa and Antarctica. Phylogenetically, Diadocidiidae are allied with Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae, and Ditomyiidae, and were formerly treated as a subfamily within Mycetophilidae.

Etymology

From the type genus Diadocidia + Latin suffix -idae (family rank).

Example

Larvae of Diadocidia spin silken galleries under the bark of fallen hardwoods where they graze on the spore-bearing surface of Trametes and other polypore fungi.

Related Terms

• Keroplatidae
• Bolitophilidae
• Ditomyiidae
• Mycetophilidae
• Sciaroidea
• fungus gnat
• hymenium
• Polyporaceae
• saproxylic

Usage Notes

Formerly subsumed within Mycetophilidae; now recognized as a distinct family based on larval morphology and adult genitalic characters. The monogeneric status of the extant fauna makes the family name and genus name nearly coextensive in practice. Specimens are rarely encountered in general collecting but may be sampled by rearing from polypore-inhabited decaying wood.