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Order: Diptera: Derived from the Greek words "di" meaning
two and "ptera" meaning wings, refers to the fact that true flies
have only a single pair of wings. These are often villified and
associated with blood sucking mosquitoes and garbage milling flies,
but a majority are of great benefit to us. Many other insects
include "fly" in their names due to their aerial abilities such
as butterfly, firefly and mayfly, but note they are spelled as
one word, whereas true flies are separated, such as robber fly
and soldier fly*. On a personal note, I find to be the most beautifully
colored like the bottle fly and long legged flies, and just plain
crazy looking like the tachinid fly and picture-winged flies.
Hope you do as well.
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Bee Flies
Hover like bees, also mistaken
for large fuzzy mosquitoes due to large proboscis, but for
nectar vs blood.
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Blow Flies/Bottle Flies:
Named for their metallic colors, some help solve cime scenes
as carrion-breeding flies arrive at a carcass in a predictable
sequence.
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 Crane Flies:
Look like huge mosquitoes, but are harmless. Cool alien
-looking heads up close.
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 Deer & Horse Flies:
Holy painful bites, females only with knifelike mouthparts to slice and dive, while males sip flowers.
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_th.jpg) Flesh Flies:
Defy generalization, common ones associated with carrion, but others feed on wounds, dung, or are parasitic.
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 Flower Flies: Bee Mimics:
As their name implies, resemble bees as well, but do not seem to be as hairy as the Beeflies.
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 Flower Flies: Wasp Mimics
Smaller than many wasps but some mimic their behavior as well. Very fun to watch them hover in one place.
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 Flutter Flies:
Considered rare so hope this is correct, love the name. Found in moist woodlands, 3-5 mm.
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 Grass Flies
In fields and sedges along ponds, tiny and some strikingly patterned, some flit about eyes and ears so also known as eye gnats.
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 House Flies:
Lumped as filth flies, many can be vectors of disease in
their habit of regurgitating "vomit drops" to liquify food
for easier digestion.
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 Long-legged/Dancing
Flies:
Many resemble mini robber flies,
most are predatory. Some males offer wrapped meals to mates.
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 Midges & Black Flies:
Midges often mistaken for mosquitoes, but resting position of legs are up. Males form large swarms, have feathery antennae.
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 Mosquitoes:
Can transmit deadly diseases, only females feed on blood,
but not all species do. Humans are generally last resort
hosts.
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 Picture-winged
Flies:
Named for their banded or spotted wings. I find their stout snouts to be rather funny as well.
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 Robber Flies:
The falcons of the insect world, swift-winged predators,
perching on plants, trees or the ground, dashing out to
grab victim.
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 Snipe
Flies:
Common in wooded areas, the ones I have seen have cute pointy abdomens. Both larvae and adults are predatory.
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 Soldier
Flies:
Striking bee and wasp mimics, with Y or T shaped antennae to give them away.
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 Stilt-legged Flies:
Mimic wasps, walking with front legs extended like antennae, some mimic ants, found in wooded areas on bases of trees or low foliage.
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 Tachinid
Flies:
Almost exclusively internal parasitoids of other insects, especially caterpillars. Most adults are robust with spiny abdomens.
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 Thick-headed
Flies:
Have a rather large noggin. Mostly parasitic on solitary
bees or wasps, females force host to ground, plant
egg in prey's abdomen then release.
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 ID ME:
Halp!
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*Excerpted from Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of
North America
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