Camillidae

The Camillidae are a family of flies, or Diptera. The family has five genera (four living; one fossil).

Description

For terms see Morphology of Diptera

Minute (2-3.5mm. in length) slender lustrous black flies with hyaline wings.The postvertical bristles on the head are cruciate. There are three small orbital bristles on head on each side of frons one of which is poorly developed.The vibrissae on head are well developed.The arista has long rays above and shorter rays below. There are two pairs of dorsocentral bristles on thorax and one mesopleural bristle on the side of the thorax.Costa interrupted near R1, Subcosta reduced and close to R1, posterior basal wing cell and discoidal wing cell fused; anal wing cell rudimentary.Femur of fore legs has a spine on its ventral side.

Biology

The lifestyle of the Camillidae is for the most part little known. There is an assumption that the larvae feed on decaying plant matter or animal faeces. Adults have frequently been found at the entrances of mammal burrows, or captured in mammal nests. Adults may be also found feeding on flowers. One species has been reared from larvae in the dung of rock hyraxes in Southern Africa (Barraclough, 1992).