Camillidae is a family of flies, or Diptera

Diptera

Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...

. There are five genera

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 (four living; one fossil).

Biology

The lifestyle of the Camillidae is for the most part little known. There is an assumption that the larvae

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

 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).

Family Description

Small slender, dark flies generally 2-3.5mm in length. The Arista

Arista (biology)

In insect anatomy the arista is a simple or variously modified apical or subapical bristle, arising from the third antennal segment. It is the evolutionary remains of antennal segments, and may sometimes show signs of segmentation...

 has long rays above and shorter rays below. Femur of fore legs has a spine on its ventral side.

Genera

• Camilla
  Camilla (genus)
  Camilla are small slender, dark flies generally in length, from the family Camillidae-Species:*Camilla atrimana Strobl, 1910*Camilla flavicauda Duda, 1922*Camilla fuscipes Collin, 1933*Camilla glabra...
  
  Haliday
  Alexander Henry Haliday
  Alexander Henry Haliday, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday and Alexis Heinrich Haliday sometimes Halliday , was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera and Thysanoptera, but Haliday worked on all insect orders and on many aspects of entomology.Haliday...
  
   in Curtis
  John Curtis (entomologist)
  John Curtis was an English entomologist and illustrator.-Biography:Curtis was born in Norwich and learned his engraving skills in the workshop of his father, Charles Morgan Curtis...
  
  , 1837
• Afrocamilla Barraclough, 1992
• Noterophila Rondani
  Camillo Róndani
  Camillo Róndani was an Italian entomologist noted for his studies of Diptera.-Early years:When Camillo Róndani was born in Parma the city was part of the French Empire Napoleon having crowned himself King of Italy...
  
   1856 (synonym of Camilla)
• Katacamilla Papp, 1978
• Teratocamilla Barraclough, 1993
• †Protocamilla Hannig 1965

Identification

• Duda, O. 1934. Camillidae. In Lindner, E.
  Erwin Lindner
  Erwin Lindner was a German entomologist mainly interested in Diptera.He was born in Böglins, Memmingen , 7 April 1888 and died in Stuttgart 30 November 1988, aged 100 years....
  
  Die Fliegen der Palaearktischen Region, Band VI/1: 1-7, Textfig. 1-8, Stuttgart.
• Papp, L. 1985. A key of the World species of Camillidae (Diptera). Acta zoologica hungarica 31: 217-227.