Dipterans are insects with only one pair of functional wings, the hind wings are reduced to a pair of stalked knobs, called the ‘halteres’, which are used for balance during flight.  Most members have their mouthparts, modified for piercing and sucking.  All dipterans undergo holometabolous life cycle.  Dipteran families of medical significance include: family Simuliidae (Black-flies that spread the disease, Onchocerciasis), family Psychodidae (Sandflies that spread Leishmaniasis), family Culicidae, (Mosquitoes that spread Malaria, Yellow fever, Dengue fever, Encephalitis and Filariasis), family Tabanidae (Horseflies and Deer flies that spread Loiasis), family Chloropidae (Eye gnats that spread eye yaws and conjunctivitis), family Glossinidae (Tse-tse flies that spread Trypanosomiasis), families Muscidae, Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae (House flies, Blow Flies and Flesh flies that spread Dysentary, Typhoid fever, Cholera and Poliomyelitis.  These diseases are transmitted either mechanically or biologically.  Dipterans are controlled either at immature (larval and pupal) or at mature (Adult) stages.  These control measures include: Biological, Genetical, Physical or Chemical control methods.  Although dipterans are insects of great public health nuisance, their roles as scavengers/decomposers in both terrestrial and aquatic environments cannot be neglected.  While the above mentioned control measures should be employed against dipterans of medical importance, the scavengers should be harnessed under strict control for waste management, in order to have cleaner and safer environment in our ever increasing population.

Keywords: Dipterans, Human Diseases, Control, Public Health Nuisance, Waste Management.

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