Ditomyiidae (Edwards, 1921)

Ditomyiidae View in CoL View at ENA

The ditomyiids constitute a relatively small family of fungus gnats, with over 100 described species in 10 genera in all regions, except from the Afrotropical Region ( Vockeroth 2009). In the Neotropical Region, 35 species have been described in six genera (Falaschi 2016b). The known fauna from Brazil includes 11 described species in four genera: Australosymmerus Freeman, 1954 —in the subgenus A. (Melosymmerus) Munroe, 1974 (seven species)—, Calliceratomyia Lane, 1946 (one species), Nervijuncta Marshall, 1896 (one species), and Rhipidita Edwards, 1940 (two species) ( Falaschi 2024b), with a good number of undescribed species of the genera Rhipidita and Calliceratomyia available in collections, and an undescribed genus closely related to these two genera. These fungus gnats are typically associated with moist environments, such as decaying wood covered with moss and fungi. The immature stages live in galleries within rotting wood or on Polyporaceae fungi ( Munroe 1974).