Don't Call Us Flies

The "fly" terminology can be misleading. Lots of critters with "fly" in their names aren't true flies at all. Flies are insects with only a single pair of wings, differentiating them from the wasps/bees, the moths/butterflies, and the dragonflies/damselflies (among others). And unlike beetles where the 2nd pair of wings have evolved into wing-protecting elytra, the 2nd pair of fly wings have evolved into rotational sensing halteres, enabling especially acrobatic flight.

Here are a few of the non-flies with "fly" in their names.
dragonfly != fly, dragonfly == odonate
July 28, 2021 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 148654312, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

lanternfly != fly, lanternfly == bug
July 28, 2021 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 148654536, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

butterfly != fly, butterfly == lepidopteran
July 28, 2021 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 148654418, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

damselfly != fly, damselfly == odonate
May 28, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 133214083, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

firefly != fly, firefly = beetle
July 14, 2020 at Duke Farms
Photo 86593761, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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