|
True flies are insects of the order Diptera (from the Greek ''di'' = two, and ''ptera'' = wings). The most obvious distinction from other orders of insects is that a typical fly possesses a pair of flight wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax. (Some species of flies are exceptional in that they are secondarily flightless.) The only other order of insects bearing two true, functional wings plus any form of halteres are the Strepsiptera, and in contrast to the flies, the Strepsiptera bear their halteres on the mesothorax and their flight wings on the metathorax. == Taxonomy == The presence of a single pair of wings distinguishes most true flies from other insects with "fly" in their names, such as mayflies, dragonflies, damselflies, stoneflies, whiteflies, fireflies, alderflies, dobsonflies, snakeflies, sawflies, caddisflies, butterflies or scorpionflies. However, some true flies have become secondarily wingless, for example many members of the superfamily Hippoboscoidea and some species that are inquilines in social insect colonies. Some authors draw a distinction in writing the common names of insects. True flies are written as two words, such as crane fly, robber fly, bee fly, moth fly, and fruit fly. In contrast, common names of nondipteran insects that have "fly" in their names are written as one word, e.g. butterfly, stonefly, dragonfly, scorpionfly, sawfly, caddisfly, whitefly.〔(Bug guide )〕 In practice however, though it is practical this is a comparatively new convention; especially in older books, one commonly might see the likes of "saw fly" and "caddis fly", or hyphenated forms such as house-fly and dragon-fly.〔Comstock, J. H. An Introduction to Entomology, Comstock Publishing. 1949. May be downloaded from: ()〕 In any case, non-entomologists cannot in general be expected to tell dipterans, "true flies", from other insects, so it would be unrealistic to expect rigour in the use of common names. There are also exceptions to this rule, such as the hoverfly, which is a true fly, and the Spanish fly, a type of blister beetle. The Diptera comprise a large order, containing an estimated 1,000,000 species of mosquitoes, gnats, midges and others, although only a quarter (about 120,000 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 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「fly」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|