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A new fossil species of crane‐fly, Helius botswanensis:Diptera: Tipulidaey is described. The specimen was discovered recently in reliably dated. Cretaceous sediments from Botswana. Ii is extremely well preserved, has a distinctive morphology, and is identified as belonging to the extant genus Helius. The single specimen puts the origin of the subfamily Limoniinae and the genus well into the Cretaceous Period, and provides data on the southern African Cretaceous palaeoenvironment. The conservative nature of a dipteran of such antiquity, assignable to an extant genus which has an association with flowers, has implications for evolutionary theory.

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The first fossil dance fly, Empis (s.s.) orapaensis sp.nov., of the subfamily Empidinae (Diptera: Empididae) is described from Africa. It was extracted from middle Cretaceous sediments of Orapa, Botswana. Empis orapaensis manifests a more plesiomorphous wing venational pattern then the extant species of Empis, and a list of the apomorphic and plesiomorphic characteristics is given. The specimen modifies earlier ideas on the phylogeny of the Empidoidea.The fossil also provides us with more conclusive evidence on the environment of Cretaceous southern Africa. E.orapanenis probably had a similar life‐style to extant members of the group and therefore visited flowers.