Flies are the best aerialists of all the insects -- how do they do that with only two wings? Skip to main ... Their other pair of wings have shrunken into drumstick-like organs called halteres.

Diptera flies possess modified hind wings that have evolved into tiny, sticklike structures with a knob at the end, called halteres. Their vibrations help the insects stabilize their bodies while ...

Halteres, essential for flight in all flies, are needed by some to climb walls Sensory organ use hints at how brain processes multiple sources of information Date: November 25, 2015 ...

Most other insects — bees, butterflies, dragonflies — have four wings and no halteres. The relatively large halteres of a crane fly are easier to spot than most. The halteres are the small, ...

But no one knew how four-winged insects, which lack halteres, corrected their flight paths. Experiments conducted by Sane on hawk moths, detailed in the Feb. 9 issue of the journal Science, ...

The team then removed the halteres and found that both speed and stability of take-offs reduced in Calyptratae species. Read more: Drones inspired by insects could keep flying even when damaged.