Diagnosis. Small to large (3.0-15.0 mm) nematocerous flies. Body dark brownish to black, females sometimes partly yellowish to reddish. Antennae short, not longer than head, usually consisting of 7-10 segments; palpi long, usually with five segments. Front tibia either with conspicuous spur and apical spine (Bibio) or with a comb of smaller spines (Dilophus). Wing with costa (almost) reaching wing tip, posterior veins often colourless. Male eyes holoptic, females eyes small, dichoptic.
Biology. Many species are univoltine spring-species, present for only a few weeks every year, sometimes in very large numbers. Males swarm or aggregate in the vegetation. Females are seen less, although quite often in copula. Dilophus species are bivoltine and one rare species of Bibio occurs exclusively in autumn. Larvae live in the soil, often in grasslands. They are thought to feed on the roots of grasses and other plants. Some species are reported to cause economical damage.
General references. Freeman & Lane (1985 [key]), Haenni (1982 [Dilophus]), Krivosheina (1986 [catalogue]), Skartveit (1997 [general, key to genera]), Verbeke (1971 [keys, esp. females]), Zeegers (1997b [keys]).
References to the local fauna. Beuk (1997), Krivosheina (1986), Van der Leij (2014), Vlug (1982), Zeegers (1997b, 1998a).
How to quote this page: Beuk, P.L.Th., & Th. Zeegers, 2017. Family Bibionidae. In: Beuk, P.L.Th. (Ed.): Checklist of the Diptera of the Netherlands, https://diptera-info.nl/news.php?fam=Bibionidae (date accessed: 15/01/2025).
NL: 17
B: 16
D: 19
UK: 18
World: 700
BIBIONIDAE
Bibio Geoffroy, 1762
anglicus Verrall, 1889
N
clavipes Meigen, 1818
N
Note 1
ferruginatus (Linnaeus, 1767)
N
hortulanus (Linnaeus, 1758)
N
johannis (Linnaeus, 1767)
N
lanigerus Meigen, 1818
N
= hybridus Haliday, 1833
Note 2
leucopterus (Meigen, 1804)
N
longipes Loew, 1864
added by Zeegers (2017: 87)
= lepidus Loew, 1871: possible synonym
Note 3
marci (Linnaeus, 1758)
N
nigriventris Haliday, 1833
N
= lacteipennis (Zetterstedt, 1850)
pomonae (Fabricius, 1775)
N
reticulatus Loew, 1846
N
varipes Meigen, 1830
N
= atripes Duda, 1930
venosus (Meigen, 1804)
N; added by Van der Leij (2014: 33)
Dilophus Meigen, 1803
febrilis (Linnaeus, 1758)
N
= vulgaris Meigen, 1818
femoratus Meigen, 1804
N
= albipennis Meigen, 1830
humeralis Zetterstedt, 1850
N
Notes
Note 1
The status of B. longipes is rather confused. According to Skartveit (2006) B. clavipes and B. longipes seem to 'integrate' in Central Europe but appear to be distinct in western- and northernmost parts of Europe and should be treated as distinct species there. Based on this, Zeegers (2017) added the species again to the Dutch list.
Note 2
In the original 2002 checklist (Beuk & Zeegers, 2002) B. hybridus was treated as synonym of B. lanigerus without formal synonymisation, even though the British and German checklists (Chandler, 1998a; Kassebeer, 1999) at the time maintained B. hybridus as valid species. In our experience it was not possible to separate these species reliably. The colour of setae on the body given as distinguishing character by Freeman & Lane (1985) proves to be of little or no use since populations can be found with the two supposed species and their intermediates. The synonym has since been confirmed by Skartveit (2006).
Note 3
Synonymy established by Skartveit (2006).
The latest revisions at different levels
The family introduction was last edited on 18-07-2014 23:48
Bibio longipes was the last (sub)species to be edited on 11-08-2017 12:56
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