Biology 3484A/B Lecture Notes - West Nile Fever, Bluetongue Disease, Pupa
Document Summary
Order diptera flies: di means two and ptera means wing, so these are two-winged insects. A synapomorphy for the order diptera is the hind wings modified/reduced into knob-like structures called halteres. Halteres are flapped up and down during flight, as wings are. The base of the haltere sits in a nerve-filled socket and sends complex messages to the brain about flight position. It acts like the gyroscopic flight indicator on planes. It helps balance and stabilize the fly during flight. Flies are sometimes called true flies to distinguish them from other insects that have the word fly in their common name (ex. dragonflies, dobsonflies). Adult produces egg, which becomes larva (maggot), which becomes puparium, which becomes adult. The larvae of advanced flies are maggots, which are featureless feeding machines with chewing mouthparts. They live in and eat rotting organic matter from plants and animals. The puparium is like a cocoon, and the pupa is located inside.