Longlegged flies
(Dolichopus spp.)
Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy
Overview
Dolichopus is a very large genus of long-legged flies. There are 613 currently recognized Dolichopus species worldwide, 317 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 56 species in Minnesota. None of the species have been given a common name.
The genus name is from the Greek and translates to “long foot”, referring to the length of the tarsus, the last part of the leg.
Adults are found in marshy places and meadows. They are most abundant on mud at a water¹s edge, but they can also found perched on low vegetation. They prey on small insects. Larvae are found in wet soil and decaying vegetation, under soil, and in water. They prey on small invertebrates.
Males wave their modified forelegs in a courtship display.
Description
Adults are small, mostly less than 5⁄16″ (8 mm) in length. Almost all species are bright metallic green and blue. The antennae have three segments and a long bristle (arista) at the base of the third segment. The elongated mouthparts (palps) have just one segment. On the male the genitalia are large, conspicuous, and folded under the abdomen.
The last part of the leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments. On the male, the last tarsal segment on the front leg is flattened, flag-like. The last tarsal segment on the hind leg has several spines in the upper side. This feature separates the genus Dolichopus from all other fly genera in North America. On the wing, the radial sector (Rs) vein has two branches and is slightly swollen at the fork. The radial-media (r-m) cross vein, a short vein between the radius and media veins, is in the basal quarter of the wing. The basal cells are very small.
The larvae are maggot-like.
Distribution
Sources
Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 10/21/2026).
Dolichopus Latreille, 1797 in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-08-26 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgyy9
Van Duzee, M. C., Frank R. Cole, and John M. Aldrich. 1921. The dipterous genus Dolichopus in North America. Bull. U.S. Natn. Mus 116.
Taxonomy
Order
Suborder
Brachycera
Infraorder
Orthorrhapha
Superfamily
Empidoidea (Dance Flies, Long-legged Flies, and Allies)
Family
Dolichopodidae (Long-legged Flies)
Subfamily
Dolichopodinae
Tribe
Dolichopodini
Subordinate Taxa
longlegged fly (Dolichopus acuminatus) 
longlegged fly (Dolichopus affluens)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus ainsliei)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus albicoxa)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus angustatus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus apheles)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus barbicauda)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus bifractus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus canadensis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus coercens)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus coloradensis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus comatus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus contiguus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus cuprinus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus dakotensis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus detersus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus discolor)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus eudactylus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus finitus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus flagellitens)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus fulvipes)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus gratus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus incisuralis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus indigenus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus jugalis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus laticornis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus latipes)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus lobatus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus longimanus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus longipennis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus luteipennis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus melanocerus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus nigricornis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus nodipennis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus nubifer)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus omnivagus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus ovatus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus pachycnemus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus plumipes)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus pulchrimanus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus ramifer)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus reflectus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus remipes)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus renidescens)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus sarotes)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus scapularis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus setifer)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus sicarius)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus sincerus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus socius-gladius)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus tener)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus variabilis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus versutus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus viridis)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus vittatus)
longlegged fly (Dolichopus walkeri)
Synonyms
Dolicopus
Dolychopus
Eudolichopus
Hydroceleuthus
Iphis
Leucodolichopus
Macrodolichopus
Melanodolichopus
Rageneura
Raghenerura
Ragheneura
Satyra
Spathichira
Spatichira
Common Names
This genus has no common name. The common name for the family Dolichopodidae is long-legged flies, and it is applied here.
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LONGLEGGED FLY, Dolichopus about to reproduce
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Long-legged Fly (Dolichopodidae: Dolichopus) Missing Two legs
Carl Barrentine
Long-legged Fly (Dolichopodidae: Dolichopus) Feeding
Carl Barrentine
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