Asiloidea

The Asiloidea comprise a very large superfamily insects in the order Diptera, the true flies. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring worldwide, with many species living in dry, sandy habitat types. It includes the family Bombyliidae, the bee flies, which are parasitoids, and the Asilidae, the robber flies, which are predators of other insects. Members of the other families are mainly flower visitors as adults and predators as larvae.[1]

Asiloidea
Robber fly (Asilidae) with beetle prey
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Infraorder: Asilomorpha
Superfamily: Asiloidea
Families

10

It is not entirely clear that this superfamily is monophyletic. It is closely related to the Empidoidea and the Cyclorrhapha.[1][2]

A robber fly illustrating typical Asiloidea head features

Families

The Protapioceridae, a family of extinct flies that were native to China, are also classified in the Asiloidea.[3]

References
  1. El-Hawagry, M. S. A. (2011). "Catalogue of Superfamily Asiloidea (Diptera: Brachycera) of Egypt" (PDF). Efflatounia. 11: 1–190. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  2. Trautwein, M. D.; et al. (2010). "A multigene phylogeny of the fly superfamily Asiloidea (Insecta): Taxon sampling and additional genes reveal the sister-group to all higher flies (Cyclorrhapha)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 56 (3): 918–30. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.04.017. PMID 20399874.
  3. Zhang, K.; et al. (2007). "Notes on the extinct family Protapioceridae, with description of a new species from China (Insecta: Diptera: Asiloidea)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1530: 27–32.

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