Rhagionidae

Rhagionidae [‚rag·ē′än·ə‚dē]

(invertebrate zoology)

The snipe flies, a family of predatory orthorrhaphous dipteran insects in the series Brachycera that are brownish or gray with spotted wings.

---

Rhagionidae 

a family of flies of the order Diptera. Rhagionidae are 5 to 25 mm long and are dark in color. They are predators (they suck the blood of small insects), and many of them feed on earthworms. The larvae live in moist soil, rotten wood, and more rarely in water. There are up to 350 known species of Rhagionidae. They are found in all the countries of the world. There are about 30 species in the European part of the USSR. Rhagio scolopaceus is a widely distributed species. It is about 10 mm long and is yellow gray with dark spots. Rhagionidae usually sit upside down on tree trunks and wait for their prey.