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 r...