A Therevid fly.

Fly, mosquito and midge (Diptera) research at CSIRO

Research on Diptera at the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC) is helping scientists better understand the evolution and relationships that this group of insects has with the environment.

• 10 March 2006 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Key issues
• Current projects 

Diptera (flies, mosquitoes and midges) is one of the five mega-diverse insect orders, spanning a wide range of anatomical, biological and ecological specialisations.

Diptera currently comprises approximately 150 000 described species in 150 families. However, the total number is much higher if species which are still to be described are included.

It is estimated that there are 30 000 species of Diptera in Australia, of which only 6 400 have been described, from 104 families. 

Flies can be distinguished from other insects because:

• they have two functional wings
• their hind pair of wings have been reduced to small balancing organs called halteres.

Almost all flies have mouthparts that are adapted for lapping or piercing and sucking.

Key issues

A diverse component of the world’s fly fauna is unique to Australia. The Australian continent is home to a large number of Diptera species. Flies are ubiquitous and often abundant in Australian terrestrial ecosystems.

They perform important ecological functions such as nutrient recycling, predation, pollination and their larvae are often parasitoids of other insects.

Many species of Diptera are regarded as a nuisance. These include:

• bush fly (Musca vetutissima)
• mosquitoes 
• sandflies and blackflies.

Flies outrank other insect orders in terms of medical and veterinary significance, being responsible for the transmission of a wide variety of disease-causing micro-organisms in humans and animals.

Most of these diseases are absent from Australia, with exceptions such as dengue fever and various encephalides. Malaria has been eradicated from Australia.

Current projects

The evolutionary relationships of flies
Establishing the critical branches and radiations in fly evolution.

World monograph of stiletto flies (Diptera: Therevidae)
The project goal is to produce a predictive classification schema of this medium-sized family (4 000 species), compare reconstructed phylogenies (evolutionary pathways) with historical geographies of associated land masses, and determine the placement of therevids in the Asiloidea superfamily.

Taxonomy of Australian Tachinidae
The goal of this project is to review the Froggatimia-Anagonia genus-group, Tachinidae.

Systematics of world horse flies (Tabanidae) 
Dr David Yeates and colleague Dr David Spratt will produce revisions of the tribe Diachlorini in Australia to complete the species-level revision of the fauna begun by Dr Ian Mackerras many decades ago. PhD student Mr Bryan Lessard is studying the relationships and biogeography of the genus Scaptia.

Guide to Australian Insect Families
A Taxonomy Research and Information Network (TRIN) project to develop and deploy web based interactive keys to all 640 Australian insect families. See http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies/

Coevolution of flies and Eucalypts
Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Leigh Nelson is studying the coevolution of gall forming Fergussoninidae flies and selected clades of Angophora and Corymbia.

Learn more about the Australian National Insect Collection.