The Milichiidae (Diptera, Schizophora) are small, mostly black acalyptrate flies. The family contains about 240 described species in 19 genera and is worldwide in distribution.
The behavior of several species of Milichiidae is very specialized. For example, in some species the adults are myrmecophilous (= ant-loving), whilst in some others they are kleptoparasitic, feeding on the prey of spiders or predaceous insects.
The habitats of Milichiidae are diverse. Adults can be collected in open landscapes, such as steppes or meadows, in wadis, at the edges of forests, inside forests, in the forest canopy, in stables or houses, or even in caves. However, they do not seem to be attracted to coastal habitats or to other places near water.
The Milichiidae are divided into three subfamilies, Madizinae, Milichiinae, and Phyllomyzinae.
Common names
Common names are only rarely cited for Milichiidae and seem to be more of an invention of the author than a commonly used name. The English term "filth flies", for example, which is sometimes used for Milichiidae, was introduced by Sabrosky (1959) in the title of a paper about the genus Meoneura, which now belongs to the family Carnidae. Sabrosky probably used the general expression "filth fly" to describe the biology rather than intending the term to be a common name for the family Milichiidae. The term "filth flies" is generally used for several different taxa associated with 'filth'.
Since people keep stumbling over the name 'Milichiidae, I herewith introduce a new english common name: "freeloader flies". The name refers to the biology of Milichiidae. Definitions for 'freeloader' are: 'someone who takes advantage of the generosity of others' (wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn) or 'one who depends on another for support without reciprocating' (http://www.answers.com).
Other 'rare' common names:
- Nistfliegen (German)
- Futterdiebsfliegen (German, see Tschirnhaus, 2008)
- Käsefliegen (German). This term is nowadays used for the family Piophilidae.
- Blatthornfliege (German, only for genus Phyllomyza)
- Sprickflugor (Swedish)
- ?Vuilvliegen (Dutch)
- Pakosztoslegyek (Hungarian)
- ?Kurokobae (Japanese)
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