Fossil materials are shown to be important for testing phylogenetic and biogeographic hypotheses based on extant insects. Fossil records indicate that paraphyletic groups are common in classification of insects. Extant genera of biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) noted in the fossil record are reviewed and their age and distribution analyzed. The oldest extant genera are at least 125 million years old. The share of extant genera in the fossil record gradually grows from 20% in the Lower Cretaceous to 100% in the Oligocene -Miocene. Most of the extant genera have or had a wide (mostly global) distribution. Limited distributions on the Southern Hemisphere concern the relict genera Austroconops, Metahelea, Meunierohelea and Physohelea, which have fossil records on the Northern Hemisphere. A wide distribution, present or past, of most genera of the biting midges analyzed, indicates that complete land bridges or continental drifts did not have a significant influence on their migrations onto new territories. The distribution of biting midges supports views that ecological conditions determined mostly by climate and competition are the most important factors influencing insect distribution. Biogeographic scenarios based exclusively on recent distributions of extant fauna should be treated with great caution.
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