First records of three species of long–legged flies (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) of the subfamily Medeterinae from Slovakia are presented. Systenus pallipes (von Roser, 1840) and Systenus leucurus Loew, 1859 emerged from rearing units with sediment from a water–filled tree hole of elm ( Ulmus sp.), and Systenus scholtzii (Loew, 1850) from rearing units with similar sediments from birch ( Betula sp.). The relevance of this approach i.e. the rearing process of immature stages from tree holes in laboratory conditions is briefly discussed.