Form and function of labral fan-ray microtrichia and posterior proleg barbs in Neotropical black flies larvae (Diptera: Simuliidae)

•Uses scanning electron microscopy to describe the labral fan primary rays microtrichia pattern and the anal disc hooks tubercles of 14 Neotropical species of the genus Simulium Latreille, 1802 (Diptera, Simuliidae), which houses the main black fly species of medical importance of the family.•Provides new morphological information for Neotropical black fly species and compares it with previous information for Afrotropical species.•Shows that, although there is a relationship between the primary ray microtrichia pattern and the larval habitat, there is not a relation between the anal disc hooks tubercles, used to substrate attachment, and the primary ray microtrichia pattern.•Shows that the presence of anal disc hooks tubercles is common among black fly species.