Flies (Diptera)

This group gathers Insects subcategory members belonging to the order Diptera, the true flies, unique among insects for flying on a single functional pair of wings, the hind pair reduced to small, club-shaped balancing organs called halteres that give this order exceptional aerial maneuverability. It spans the housefly and its relatives, common around human habitation, the mosquitoes, whose blood-feeding females transmit malaria, dengue and several other diseases, the horse flies and robber flies, aggressive predators or biters as adults, the fruit flies, among them Drosophila melanogaster, one of the most studied organisms in genetics, the hoverflies, harmless bee and wasp mimics that feed on nectar and pollen, and the crane flies, whose long, delicate legs give them a deceptively mosquito-like appearance despite being entirely harmless to people.