Canacidae: Beach Flies of Hawai'i IX

Brief description

The Diptera family Canacidae encompasses fly genera commonly referred to as "beach flies", "surf flies" and "surge flies". Today there are only 113 known species within 12 genera. Their common name is derived from their intertidal habitat. They are found along coastal waters and like to reside on the surface of small salt and fresh water bodies sheltered from the wind. There, they feed on microorganisms, including ciliates, protozoa and unicellular algae. Morphologically they are tiny, grayish-brown or yellow with a pruinose pattern (frosted in appearance). Please help transcribe the UHIM's beach fly collection in order to better help us understand their distribution and impact in Hawai'i.This expedition of 351 tasks is fully transcribed and validated. This data resource is harvested periodically into the main occurrence index.