Conservation-significance

Guides

• Platypezidae

  Flat-footed Flies

  Platypezidae is a family of small true flies (Diptera) comprising over 250 species worldwide. Adults are commonly known as flat-footed flies due to their characteristically modified tarsal segments, particularly in males. The family is primarily associated with woodland habitats where larvae develop as fungivores. Adults exhibit distinctive swarming behavior for mating and are frequently observed performing rapid, erratic movements on vegetation. The family was formerly broader in circumscription, with Opetiidae and some genera now placed in Atelestidae removed based on phylogenetic evidence.

  DipteraPlatypezoideafungivorewoodlandswarming-behaviorsexual-dimorphismHolarcticPalaearcticNearcticxylobiontcave-dwellingconservation-significance