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Fly
True flies are insects of the Order Diptera (Greek: di = two, and pteron = wing), possessing a single pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax. The presence of a single pair of wings distinguishes true flies from other insects with "fly" in their name, such as mayflies, dragonflies, damselflies, stoneflies, whiteflies, fireflies, alderflies, dobsonflies, snakeflies, sawflies, caddisflies, butterflies or scorpionflies. Some true flies have become secondarily wingless, especially in the superfamily Hippoboscoidea, or among those that are inquilines in social insect colonies. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species of mosquitos, gnats, midges and others, although under half of these (about 120,000 species) have been described [1]. It is one of the major insect orders both in terms of ecological and human (medical and economic) importance. The Diptera, in particular the mosquitoes (Culicidae), are of great importance as disease transmitters, acting as vectors for malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, yellow fever, encephalitis and other infectious diseases.
Ecology
Anatomy of a Housefly. I: head; II: thorax III: abdomen. ? 1: prescutum; 2: anterior spiracle; 3: scutum; 4: mesopleuron; 5: calypters; 6: scutellum; 7: wing vein; 8: wing; 9: abdominal segment; 10: haltere; 11: posterior spiracle; 12: femur; 13: tibia; 14: spur; 15: tarsus; 16: propleuron; 17: prosternum; 18: mesopleuron; 19: mesosternum; 20: metapleuron; 21: metasternum; 22: compound eye; 23: arista; 24: antenna; 25: maxilary palps; 26: labium; 27: hypopharynx [2] 28:labellum; 29:pseudotrachea. Some flies can be important pollinators for many species of plant (many such fly-specialized plants, such as Stapelia, Rafflesia, and Aristolochia, produce carrion odors), and many flies feed on pollen and nectar of common plants, and can perform incidental pollination. Similar relationships occur between flies and various fungi, with flies dispersing the fungal spores. The basic life cycle of a fly is egg, larvae (maggots ? see below), pupa and adult (winged stage), called holometabolism. There is often a difference in food sources for larvae versus adult dipterans of the same species. For example, mosquito larvae live in standing water and feed on detritus while the adults feed on nectar as their energy source while females utilize blood as their energy source for egg production. Various maggots cause damage in agricultural crop production, including root maggots in rapeseed, midge maggots in wheat, and numerous species of leaf miners (note that since fly maggots have no legs, they almost exclusively feed internally on plants). Flies rely heavily on sight for survival. The compound eyes of flies are composed of thousands of individual lenses and are very sensitive to movement. Some flies have very accurate 3D vision. A few, like Ormia ochracea, have very advanced hearing organs. Classification
Mating
Most of the Muscomorpha are further subdivided into the Acalyptratae and Calyptratae based on whether or not they have a calypter (a wing flap that extends over the halteres). Beyond that, considerable revision in the taxonomy of the flies has taken place since the introduction of modern cladistic techniques, and much remains uncertain. The secondary ranks between the suborders and the families are more out of practical or historical considerations than out of any strict respect for phylogenetic classifications (some modern cladists tend to spurn the use of Linnaean rank names). Nearly all classifications in use now, including this article, contain some paraphyletic groupings; this is emphasized where the numerous alternative systems are most greatly at odds. See list of families of Diptera. Dipterans belong to the group Mecopterida, that also contains Mecoptera, Siphonaptera, Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and Trichoptera. Inside it, they are sometimes classified closely together with Mecoptera and Siphonaptera in the superorder Antliophora [4]. EvolutionDiptera are usually thought to derive from Mecoptera or a strictly related group. First true dipterans are known from the Middle Triassic, becoming widespread during the Middle and Late Triassic [5]. Flies in cultureFlies have often been used in mythology and literature to represent agents of death and decay, such as the Biblical fourth plague of Egypt, or portrayed as nuisances (e.g., in Greek mythology, Myiagros was a god who chased away flies during the sacrifices to Zeus and Athena, and Zeus sent a fly to bite the horse Pegasus causing Bellerophon to fall back to Earth when he attempted to ride to Mount Olympus), though in a few cultures the connotation is not so negative (e.g., in the traditional Navajo religion, Big Fly is an important spirit being). Emily Dickinson's poem "I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died" also makes reference to flies in the context of death. Not surprisingly, in art and entertainment, flies are also used primarily to introduce elements of horror or the simply mundane; an example of the former is the 1958 science fiction film The Fly (remade in 1986), in which a scientist accidentally exchanges parts of his body with those of a fly. Examples of the latter include trompe l'oeil paintings of the 15th century such as Portrait of a Carthusian by Petrus Christus, showing a fly sitting on a fake frame [6], a 2001 art project by Garnet Hertz in which a complete web server was implanted into a dead flyhttp://www.conceptlab.com/fly/, and various musical works (such as Yoko Ono's album Fly, U2's song "The Fly," Dave Matthews' song "The Fly" and Béla Bartók's "From the Diary of a Fly"). The ability of flies to cling to almost any surface has also inspired the title of Human Fly for stunt performers whose stunts involve climbing buildings, including both real life and fictional individuals. Aside from the fictional and conceptual role flies play in culture, there are practical roles that flies can play (e.g., flies are reared in large numbers in Japan to serve as pollinators of sunflowers in greenhouses), especially the maggots of various species. Maggots
Maggots being used to treat a wound Other types of maggots are bred commercially, as a popular bait in angling, and a food for carnivorous pets such as reptiles or birds. Maggots have been used in medicine to clean out necrotic wounds [7], and in food production, particularly of cheeses (casu marzu). Gallery<gallery> image:Medfly.jpg|Ceratitis capitata, "Mediterranean fruit fly" image:Anopheles gambiae mosquito feeding 1354.p lores.jpg|Anopheles gambiae image:Long tongue tachinid fly edit.jpg|Tachinid fly </gallery> ReferencesBiology
Classification
Evolution
External links
zh-min-nan:Hô?-sîn ca:Dípter cs:Dvouk?ídlí da:Tovinger de:Zweiflügler et:Kahetiivalised el:???? es:Diptera eo:Dipteroj fa:??????? fr:Diptera ko:??? it:Diptera he:??????? jv:Laler la:Diptera lt:Dvisparniai nl:Tweevleugeligen ja:??? no:Tovinger pl:Muchówki pt:Diptera ro:Diptera qu:Iskaylla rapra ru:???? sl:Dvokrilci fi:Kaksisiipiset sv:Tvåvingar th:??????? uk:???????? yo:Esinsin zh:??? Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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