A family of small biting flies found in mountain streams and fast-flowing waters, characterized by their distinctive hairy or feathery antennae.
From the genus 'Blepharocera' + Latin '-idae' (family designation in taxonomy). This follows Linnaean nomenclature conventions where family names are derived from a characteristic genus within that family, standardized in the 18th century.
These flies have one of the most specific habitats of any insect — they only breed in turbulent streams with precise dissolved oxygen levels, making them so finicky about their environment that they've become prized by freshwater biologists as the 'canary in the coal mine' for river health.
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