order
                        
                      
                                    Coleoptera
                                       “Adult Beetles”
                                  
                                    Coleoptera
                                       “Larval Beetles”
                                  
                                    Diptera
                                       “True Flies”
                                  
                                    Ephemeroptera
                                       “Mayflies”
                                  
                                    Hemiptera
                                       “True Bugs”
                                  
                                    Lepidoptera
                                       “Aquatic Caterpillars, Snout Moths”
                                  
                                    Megaloptera
                                       “Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies”
                                  
                                    Odonata
                                       “Dragonflies and Damselflies”
                                  
                                    Plecoptera
                                       “Stoneflies”
                                  
                                    Trichoptera
                                       “Caddisflies”
                                 family
                        
                     Psychodidae
            
               “Moth Flies”
            
      Family Overview
                  
               
                           Psychodidae
                               
                              
                        
                            
                              
                        Moth Flies
                     
                        The head is distinct and conspicuous; there are no segmented legs; body segments are subdivided into 2 or 3 subdivisions, most of which have hard, dark, transverse plates; the end of the abdomen usually has a relatively short, conical respiratory tube.
                  
               Characteristics
                  
               POLLUTION TOLERANCE
                        Mid-Atlantic: up to 4
                                 Midwest: 3.7 - 5.6
                                 Southeast: up to 9.9
                              0 = least tolerant, 10 = most tolerant
                        FEEDING HABITS
                        
                                 Collector / Gatherer
                        
                     MOVEMENT
                        
                                 Burrower
                        
                     Diagnostic Characters
               order
                      
                                       
                                    Legs Absent
                                 family
                         
                                       
                                    Body Segments Subdivided
                                  
                                       
                                    Distinct Thoracic Segments
                                  
                                       
                                    Head Capsule Complete and Exposed
                                  
                                       
                                    Mandibles Moving Horizontally
                                 
                  + Expanded Character List
                  
                     
               
            
                        Order:
                           Wings and wing pads absent. Eye spots sometimes visible, but compound eyes absent. Segmented legs absent, but sometimes fleshy prolegs present. Sometimes with distinct head, often without head or with head drawn deeply into thorax. Body flattened, cylindrical, or maggot-like.
                     
                     
                        Family:
                           The head is distinct and conspicuous; there are no segmented legs; body segments are subdivided into 2 or 3 subdivisions, most of which have hard, dark, transverse plates; the end of the abdomen usually has a relatively short, conical respiratory tube.
                     
                  Lateral
               



