Ephydroidea

The Ephydroidea are a superfamily of muscomorph flies, with over 6,000 species.^[1]

Ephydroidea
Notiphila watanabei
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Section:	Schizophora
Subsection:	Acalyptratae
Superfamily:	Ephydroidea
Families
Camillidae Curtonotidae - quasimodo flies Diastatidae - bog flies Drosophilidae - vinegar and fruit flies Ephydridae - shore flies Mormotomyiidae

Description

A characteristic of adult Ephydroidea (shared with their relatives such as Calyptratae) is that the pedicel of the antenna has a dorsoventral seam or incision.^[1]

Ecology

Ephydroidea live in many habitats and have diverse diets. For example, most Ephydridae have larvae that are aquatic/semi-aquatic and feed as browsers or filter-feeders, but there are also species with terrestrial larvae that are egg predators, egg parasitoids, leaf miners or saprophages. Most Drosophilidae breed in rotting material where they feed on yeast and bacteria, but there are also species that attack whole fruits.^[2]

Phylogeny

A 2021 analysis found Ephydroidea to be the sister taxon to Calyptratae.^[1]