The morphology of all life stages of the semi-aquatic nematocerous fly, Axymyia furcata McAtee (Diptera: Axymyiidae), is documented, with emphasis on use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Our data on some life stages (e.g., egg, first-instar larvae) represent the first SEM examination of these stages in axymyiids. Among the unexpected results is absence of an egg burster in first instars. Most characters provided little evidence of a phylogenetic relationship with any other clade of nematocerous Diptera, reflecting a need for comprehensive morphological studies of the immatures of many families.