Diptera (di - two, ptera - wings), or true flies, is the order of insect possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 200,000 species, although under half of these (about 85,000 species) have been described. It is one of the major insect orders both in terms of ecological and human...
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Diptera (di - two, ptera - wings), or true flies, is the order of insect possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 200,000 species, although under half of these (about 85,000 species) have been described. It is one of the major insect orders both in terms of ecological and human (medical and economic) importance. The Diptera, in particular the Culicidae, are of phenomenal historical and current importance as disease transmitters. The study of the Diptera is called dipterology.
Diptera include flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges. In compound names containing "fly" for members of this order, the name is normally written as two words, as in "crane fly", though there are a few historical exceptions, such as "sandfly" and "blackfly". For insects that are members of other orders the name should always be written as a...
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