The majority of authors, however, follow Brauer in dividing the order into two sections, Orthorrhapha and Cyclorrhapha, according to the manner in which the pupa-case splits to admit of the escape of the perfect insect.
In the Cyclorrhapha on the other hand, in which the actual pupa is concealed within the hardened larval skin, the imago escapes through a circular orifice formed by pushing off or through the head end of the puparium.
Within the divisions named - Orthorrhapha Nematocera, Orthorrhapha Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha - the constituent families are usually grouped into a series of "superfamilies," distinguished by features of structure or habit.
By other writers Proboscidea and Eproboscidea are treated as primary divisions of the Cyclorrhapha.
The eruciform larva of the Orthorrhapha leads on to the headless vermiform maggot of the Cyclorrhapha, and in the latter sub-order we find metamorphosis carried to its extreme point, the muscid flies being the most highly specialized of all the Hexapoda as regards structure, while their maggots are the most degraded of all insect larvae.