All moral rights asserted. Recolouring or alteration of the image is prohibited without permission. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a haltere. Halteres are a pair of small club-shaped organs on the body of some flying insects. They provide information about body rotations during flight. Halteres oscillate rapidly along with the wings and operate like a vibrating gyroscope, as any rotation of the plane of oscillation causes a force on the vibrating halteres by the Coriolis effect. The insect detects this force with sensory organs called campaniform sensilla and chordotonal organs located at the base of the halteres and uses this information to interpret and correct its position in space. Halteres provide rapid feedback to the wing-steering muscles, as well as to the muscles responsible for stabilizing the head. Magnification: x901 when printed at 15 centimetres wide.