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A swarm of non-biting midge flies

Flies

Flies, also known as true flies to distinguish them from creatures such as caddisflies and mayflies, are an order of insects which includes such familiar species as the midge, the bluebottle and the fruit fly. Some estimates put the total number of fly species at around a million, though only a fraction of these have been formally described by scientists.

Scientific name: Diptera

Rank: Order

Common names:

  • Diptera,
  • True Flies

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Distribution

The Flies can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Europe, Indian subcontinent, Mediterranean, North America, South America, United Kingdom, Wales, Ynys-hir nature reserve. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

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Fossil types

Learn more about the other animals and plants that also form these fossils.

Amber Amber
Amber owes its existence to the defence mechanisms of certain kinds of tree. When the bark is punctured or infected, a sticky resin oozes out to seal the damage and sterilise the area.

About

True flies are insects of the order Diptera (from the Greek di = two, and ptera = wings). They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax. Apart from secondarily flightless insects (including some flies), the only other order of insects with any form of halteres are the Strepsiptera, and theirs are on the mesothorax, with the flight wings on the metathorax.

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BBC News about Flies

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