Nematocera

The Nematocera (thread-horns) are a suborder of elongated flies with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic larvae, consisting of the mosquitoes, crane flies, gnats, black flies, and midges.

Nematocera are typically characterized by filamentous, multisegmented antennae which may be plumose in some males. The Nematocera are a paraphyletic suborder, because one of its constituent families (Anisopodidae) is apparently a sister taxon to the entire suborder Brachycera; an alternative classification has been proposed in which the family Nymphomyiidae (traditionally classified within the Blephariceromorpha) is removed to its own suborder, the Archidiptera, and all the remaining nematoceran families are placed in a suborder called Eudiptera; however, the Eudiptera are also paraphyletic, and this classification has not been widely accepted. Largely due to its long history, the name Nematocera continues to be used.