This handbook covers British species of the family Dolichopodidae, popularly called long-legged flies. These are often attractive both visually and in their behaviour so the larger species will be familiar to most naturalists. The sexes are often strongly dimorphic, males having their legs and wings modified for signalling during sometimes complex courtship.
Both the larvae and adults are predators, with the exception of one genus whose larvae are miners within monocotyledons. Most species are associated with wetlands from the sea shore to montane pools, while a small number have more xerophilic tendencies and others are associated with rot-holes or wood-boring beetles. Dolichopodids can play an important role in nature conservation assessment of sites as their habitat affinities, rarity status and distributions are fairly well known.
This book focuses on the British fauna of about 327 species in 47 genera placed in 12 subfamilies. One species so far found only in Ireland is also included. The limits of several subfamilies are poorly defined, and phylogenetic relationships based on morphological and molecular data are also not always in agreement so the placement in this book of some genera differs from previous British checklists.
