Family NERIIDAE Westwood, 1840

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Introduction

Neriidae are a family of long-legged flies, mostly found in the tropics. The family was previously treated as a subfamily of Micropezidae, to which they are closely related. Approximately 100 species in 20 genera are described worldwide, however the family is poorly represented in Australia by only two species. Although Australian species are currently placed in two genera, it may be that the only genus truly represented in Australia is Telostylinus (D.K. McAlpine pers. comm).

Biology
There has been little research into the life histories of species in this family. The larvae of the widely distributed species Telostylinus lineolatus have been associated with papaya trees (Carica papaya) in Asia and elephant bush (Portulacaria afra) in Hawaii. The larvae of Derocephalus angusticollis (the banana-stalk fly) have been found in the rotting ends of cut banana bunches, as well as rotting vegetable matter.

General References

CSIRO (ed.) 1970. The Insects of Australia. A textbook for students and research workers. Carlton : Melbourne University Press xiv 1029 pp. [722]

Lonsdale, O. 2020. Family groups of Diopsoidea and Nerioidea (Diptera: Schizophora)—Definition, history and relationships. Zootaxa 4735(1): 1-177 [45]

Pitkin, B.R. 1989. Family Neriidae. pp. 468-469 in Evenhuis, N.L. (ed.). Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian Regions. Honolulu and Leiden : Bishop Museum Press and E.J. Brill 1155 pp.

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