order
Coleoptera
“Adult Beetles”
Coleoptera
“Larval Beetles”
Diptera
“True Flies”
Ephemeroptera
“Mayflies”
Hemiptera
“True Bugs”
Lepidoptera
“Aquatic Caterpillars, Snout Moths”
Megaloptera
“Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies”
Odonata
“Dragonflies and Damselflies”
Plecoptera
“Stoneflies”
Trichoptera
“Caddisflies”
family
Ephydridae
“Shore Flies”
Family Overview
Ephydridae
Shore Flies
No family-level description defined.
Characteristics
POLLUTION TOLERANCE
FEEDING HABITS
Collector / Gatherer
Engulfer / Predator
Scraper / Grazer
Shredder / Herbivore
Engulfer / Predator
Scraper / Grazer
Shredder / Herbivore
MOVEMENT
Burrower
Sprawler
Sprawler
Diagnostic Characters
Order
Legs Absent
Family
All Abdominal Segments with Hook-bearing Prolegs
Head Retracted in Thorax
Respiratory Tube
+ Expanded Character List
Order:
Wings and wing pads absent. Eye spots sometimes visible, but compound eyes absent. Segmented legs absent, but sometimes fleshy prolegs present. Sometimes with distinct head, often without head or with head drawn deeply into thorax. Body flattened, cylindrical, or maggot-like.
Family:
The head is not evident, but is reduced to some sclerotized rods inside the thorax; there are no segmented legs; the end of the abdomen is somewhat tapered and usually ends in a long retractile respiratory tube that lacks tubercles.
Lateral