A listing of all Natalimyzidae material deposited at the Natal Museum is provided. Data for the two species groups are presented separately. The species group with a depressed head and eye in profile is encountered relatively infrequently, and is recorded only from Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Cape. A distribution map based on the Natal Museum material shows that the family is widely distributed in the eastern summer rainfall region; it is suggested that natalimyzids may prove to be absent from the arid north-west of the country (Northern Cape). Natalimyzidae have been collected from a variety of habitats, ranging from coastal dune vegetation to grassland at about 2800 m in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg; although grassland is the predominant habitat, some species occur in forested areas. Grassland species sometimes occur sympatrically, and at a particular habitat there may be a succession of species through the seasons. Highest abundance during the dry winter months in the eastern provinces is confirmed; only 13% of the 420 specimens studied was collected during the five-month summer rainfall period from September to February.

To cite this paper: Barraclough, D.A. 2007. The distribution, ecology and phenology of the South African Natalimyzidae (Diptera: Schizophora: Sciomyzoidea). African Invertebrates 48 (2): 253-257.