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They are unique among insects in that they moult one more time after acquiring functional wings; [13] this last-but-one winged instar usually lives a very short time and is known as a subimago, or to fly fishermen as a dun. Mayflies at the subimago stage are a favourite food of many fish, and many fishing flies are modelled to resemble them ...
Fishflies are quite large, with a wingspan of 2.5 to 3 inches (6 to 8 cm). They will eat aquatic plants as well as small animals including vertebrates like minnows and tadpoles, and may live up to seven days as adults. Their entire lifespan is several years, but most of this time is spent as larvae.
They include many familiar insects such as house flies, blow flies, mosquitoes, gnats, black flies, midges and fruit flies. More than 150,000 have been formally described and the actual species diversity is much greater, with the flies from many parts of the world yet to be studied intensively.
The heaviest living flying animals are the kori bustard and the great bustard with males reaching 21 kilograms (46 lb). The wandering albatross has the greatest wingspan of any living flying animal at 3.63 metres (11.9 ft). Among living animals which fly over land, the Andean condor and the marabou stork have the largest wingspan at 3.2 metres ...
Flying midges in their adult stage are eaten by fish and insectivorous birds, such as swallows and martins. They are also thought to be an especially important food source for tufted duck chicks during their first few days of life. They also are preyed on by bats and flying predatory insects, such as Odonata and dance flies.
Fairyflies are very tiny insects, like most chalcidoid wasps, mostly ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 mm (0.020 to 0.039 in) long. They include the world's smallest known insect, with a body length of only 0.139 mm (0.0055 in), and the smallest known flying insect, only 0.15 mm (0.0059 in) long. They usually have nonmetallic black, brown, or yellow bodies.
The Asian Acanthacorydalis fruhstorferi can have a wingspan of up to 21.6 cm (8.5 in), making it the largest dobsonfly and the largest aquatic insect in the world by this measurement. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] The wings vary from a grayish to translucent shade, depending on the species, and the anal region of the hindwing is wide and folded at rest.
The silverfish is a nocturnal insect typically 13–25 mm (0.5–1.0 in) long. [3] Its abdomen tapers at the end, giving it a fish-like appearance. [4] The newly hatched are whitish, but develop a greyish hue and metallic sheen as they get older. [5] It has two long cerci and one terminal filament at the tip of the abdomen between the cerci.