The Animal Kingdom: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Holland Peter

Author:Holland, Peter [Holland, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2011-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

In the true flies, Diptera, the ancestral hind-wings have been modified into tiny club-shaped ‘halteres’. These are vibrated up and down during flight, out of phase with the flapping of the fore-wings, and they form part of an intricate sensory feedback system. If the fly’s body tilts to one side, the halteres are liable to continue their original plane of vibration, with the inertia of a gyroscope, and sense organs at the base of the haltere will then detect the change in angle between haltere and body position. The fly, therefore, receives continuous information about its precise orientation in space. Consequently, true flies are the most agile of all insects, able to hover, dart, or reverse with the most astonishing rapidity and accuracy.

Amongst the tens of thousands of dipteran species are several that have profound impacts on human life. These include mosquitoes that transmit the malaria parasite or carry the viruses causing yellow fever and dengue fever. Over one million people die from mosquito-borne diseases every year. Other flies have beneficial effects, for example as pollinators, while one species, Drosophila melanogaster, has played an important role in medical research. This species of fruitfly has been a favourite ‘model organism’ in genetics research for over a century, being small and easy to breed in large numbers. Research using Drosophila has given deep insights into gene functions and interactions, with relevance to many human conditions including cancer.

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