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Halteres, (singular halter or haltere) from the Greek word for dumbbells, are small knobbed structures homologous to wings and flapped to maintain stability when flying. These specialized organs are found in the place of the forewings of Strepsiptera and the hindwings of Diptera. They act as a balancing and guidance system, helping flies to perform their fast aerial acrobatics. They play an important role in stabilising the gaze of insects during flight and also provide rapid feedback to wing-steering muscles to stabilise aerodynamic force moments.
Halteres are, in fact, the oldest known type of
Vibrating structure gyroscope, providing flying insects with the
equivalent of an aircraft Attitude indicator. The human
organs of balance are notoriously ill-suited for acrobatic
maneuvers, which is why most of us become dizzy when we attempt
them, and human acrobats must learn to ignore input from their
middle ears while performing.
In ancient Greek sports, halteres were used as lifting weights, and also as weights in their form of the long jump. Their long jump was probably a set of three jumps, and halteres were held in both hands to allow an athlete to jump a greater distance. They may have been dropped after the first or second jump.
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