- This article is about the insect. For the act of flying, see flight.
A fly is any of various small insects of the order Diptera, some of which land on food and carry germs. Not as nasty as a cockroach, but more mobile. Other flies bite horses. The larva of a fly is called a maggot. Some maggots which eat dead but not live flesh have been used medicinally, being introduced into wounds to clean them. Other maggots, such as the screwworm, eat live flesh.
The word "fly" also refers to insects of various other orders:
