The System
The game itself is an action rpg where the player can play as a wide variety of insects, and each insect is mechanically different and allows you to take a different role in combat, exploration, or just surviving.
The Issue
A fair amount of insects can fly, most with limited range and the act itself is rather taxing on stamina, notably so in things like beetles or mantis.
Some insects like butterflies(which function as a bit of a mobile, evasive healer) and dragonflies(which work like airborne burst damage characters) have extremely good flight abilities and could potentially use these to cheese combat or break the exploration system by flying up very high above the grass. This could have a serious effect on multiplayer and also have a somewhat problematic effect in single player activities. I would prefer not to just remove air-focused insects from the game entirely, because that would severely hamper player freedom as well as remove an entire combat role.
I need a way to keep players from doing things like this without adding a jarring "return to battlefield" message like the halo franchise. I would prefer a method that is explainable in-universe and doesn't take the player completely out of gameplay after the limitation is discovered.