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===Economic importance=== [[File:Anopheles stephensi.jpeg|thumb|An ''[[Anopheles stephensi]]'' mosquito drinking human blood. The species carries [[malaria]].]] Dipterans are an important group of insects and have a considerable impact on the environment. Some [[leaf-miner flies]] (Agromyzidae), [[Tephritidae|fruit flies]] (Tephritidae and Drosophilidae) and [[gall midges]] (Cecidomyiidae) are pests of agricultural crops; others such as [[tsetse flies]], [[screwworm]] and [[botflies]] (Oestridae) attack livestock, causing wounds, spreading disease, and creating significant economic harm. See article: [[Parasitic flies of domestic animals]]. A few can even cause [[myiasis]] in humans. Still others such as [[mosquito]]es (Culicidae), [[Black fly|blackflies]] (Simuliidae) and [[drain flies]] (Psychodidae) impact human health, acting as [[Vector (epidemiology)|vectors]] of major tropical diseases. Among these, ''[[Anopheles]]'' mosquitoes transmit [[malaria]], [[filariasis]], and [[arboviruses]]; ''[[Aedes aegypti]]'' mosquitoes carry [[dengue fever]] and the [[Zika virus]]; blackflies carry [[river blindness]]; sand flies carry [[leishmaniasis]]. Other dipterans are a nuisance to humans, especially when present in large numbers; these include houseflies, which contaminate food and spread food-borne illnesses; the [[Ceratopogonidae|biting midges and sandflies]] (Ceratopogonidae) and the [[Muscidae|houseflies and stable flies]] (Muscidae).<ref name=Resh>{{cite book |last1=Resh |first1=Vincent H. |last2=CardΓ© |first2=Ring T. |title=Encyclopedia of Insects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jk0Hym1yF0cC&pg=PA284 |year=2009 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-08-092090-0 |pages=284β297}}</ref> In tropical regions, eye flies ([[Chloropidae]]) which visit the eye in search of fluids can be a nuisance in some seasons.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mulla |first1=Mir S. |last2=Chansang |first2=Uruyakorn |title=Pestiferous nature, resting sites, aggregation, and host-seeking behavior of the eye fly ''Siphunculina funicola'' (Diptera: Chloropidae) in Thailand |journal=Journal of Vector Ecology |volume=32 |issue=2 |doi=10.3376/1081-1710(2007)32[292:pnrsaa]2.0.co;2 |pages=292β301 |year=2007 |pmid=18260520 |s2cid=28636403 }}</ref> Many dipterans serve roles that are useful to humans. Houseflies, blowflies and [[Mycetophilidae|fungus gnats]] (Mycetophilidae) are scavengers and aid in decomposition. [[Robber flies]] (Asilidae), [[Tachinidae|tachinids]] (Tachinidae) and [[Empididae|dagger flies and balloon flies]] (Empididae) are predators and parasitoids of other insects, helping to control a variety of pests. Many dipterans such as [[bee flies]] (Bombyliidae) and [[hoverflies]] (Syrphidae) are [[Pollination|pollinators]] of crop plants.<ref name=Resh/>
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