Cyclorrhapha

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An order of flies whose pupae have a circular seam through which the adult emerges, including house flies and fruit flies
2. Flies characterized by a round opening in the pupal case that allows the developed insect to exit, encompassing many common fly species
3. Members of a fly group distinguished by circular sutures on their pupae that split to release the winged adult

Etymology: Entomologists named this group for the way its members leave their pupal cases. The name combines the Greek "kyklos," meaning circle, and "rhaphe," meaning seam or stitch, so it describes a circular seam. When an adult fly is ready to emerge, it inflates a balloon-like organ on its head, called the ptilinum, and pushes against the case. The pupal shell splits along a round seam and the fly's head pops off like a lid. Its close relatives in the other major fly group leave through a straight or T-shaped slit, which gave that group the contrasting name "Orthorrhapha," meaning straight seam. Both names are modern scientific coinages built from classical Greek roots. Ancient Greeks had no word for these flies' pupal cases or the groups that classify them.