This is why you won't be able to swat that fly - Phys.org
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This is why you won't be able to swat that
fly
7 February 2018, by Cameron Webb And Bryan Lessard
the new golden child of Australian agriculture. For
these reasons we shouldn't reach straight for the
insect sprays to kill them off.
Maggots could also be beneficial for human health
through the treatment of infected wounds where
traditional therapies fail. They could perhaps even
be a future food source!
Unfortunately, some flies are also a problem. The
bloodsucking flies (such as biting midges, black
flies, and horse flies) can be a serious nuisance to
A fly’s eye view of a rapidly approaching swatter. Credit: holiday-goers and livestock. Mosquitoes, which are
Cameron Webb (NSW Health Pathology), Author actually a kind of fly, can transmit disease-causing
provided pathogens such as malaria, dengue and Ross
River virus.
Summer in Australia is defined by sport, but the
most-played sport isn't cricket or tennis – it's fly
swatting. Have you ever tried to swat a fly? You
can swipe, slap, slash or swoosh your hands at
these sometimes-annoying backyard pests and
almost always miss.
Fly swatting is as challenging a sport you'll face
this summer, but why is it so hard to squish these
little beasts?
An annoyance or health risk?
There are thousands of species of fly in Australia.
The vast majority pose little pest or public health
threat to people.
Flies have up to 6,000 mini lenses in each eye. Credit:
Flies actually play an important role in our local www.shutterstock.com
environment as food for predators like frogs and
birds, nutrient recyclers in native forests or
gardens, and biological control agents for other
insect pests. But it's the humble housefly that's probably one of
the most-maligned pests around the home. They
Some of the peskiest flies are some of the most don't bite but can be a persistent annoyance. Unlike
effective pollinators. Blowflies can carry double the the bloodsucking insects that transmit pathogens
amount of pollen of a honeybee and could become as they inject infected saliva as they bite, houseflies
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have been implicated in spreading hitchhiking A fly about to take off. Credit: Mt Anne Scaptia jacksonii,
pathogens from our garbage to our food Author provided
preparation areas on their bodies.
Slow motion vision thwarts swatters
A few options for fewer flies
Ever tried to swat a particularly evasive fly? It often
seems they're blessed with some kind of If flies are a persistent problem in and around your
superpower given the ease at which they sidestep home there are a few options for relief. Screening
our slapping efforts. windows and doors will assist in keeping them
outside. Reducing opportunities for them to breed is
The secret to this impressive evasiveness isn't important too, so keep the backyard clean and tidy.
some kind of mind-reading trick of the fly. It's their Locate composting areas as far away from your
superior vision. Flies have up to 6,000 ommatidia, house as possible. Reduce the amount of waste
or mini lenses, in each eye and can see us (both garbage and pet droppings) around the
approach in "slow motion". They may not have the backyard and keep garbage bins covered.
highest resolution vision, but they've got some of
the "fastest" vision on earth – giving them the time Native carnivorous plants like sundews,
to quickly react and escape. bladderworts and pitcher plants could also be a
trendy addition to your garden to help keep the
To the naked eye, as we prepare to swat, the fly unwanted fly population down.
may not seem to do anything particularly special.
But scientists have employed super slow-motion A range of insecticides are available but remember
video cameras to track the split-second movement they'll be harmful to other insects too. As with many
of flies. other urban insect pests, including bed bugs and
head lice, resistance to commonly used insects
When a fly spots a predator, or person waving their sprays has been recorded in houseflies – so where
arms about, it freezes, repositions itself, and you can avoid using these products, the better.
commences a choreographed dance, perfectly co-
ordinating its legs and wings to lift and buzz off in You could try a technology more than 100 years
the opposite direction to the incoming threat. old: the fly swat. But, in reality, you may as well
give up now. Flies have spent millions of years
Flies can do this so quickly that our eyes can't even perfecting the sweet escape and too easily avoid
follow their pre-flight manoeuvring or predict the our sluggish attempts at swatting.
path of their elegant escape. A split-second to us
could be lifesaving for a fly. This article was originally published on The
Conversation. Read the original article.
Provided by The Conversation
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APA citation: This is why you won't be able to swat that fly (2018, February 7) retrieved 19 December
2021 from https://phys.org/news/2018-02-wont-swat.html
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