House flies live on a liquid diet as they lack the mouthparts needed to chew food. A house fly regurgitates digestive juices onto solid foods and these juices break down the food into small pieces, allowing them to use their mouthparts, called proboscis, to drink the meal. Yum!
Flies can taste with their feet. This is because they have taste receptors (known as chemonsensilla) located on their lower legs and feet. When a fly lands on a tasty meal, which can be anything from animal faeces to your lunch, they wander around on it, giving it a good taste before they gobble it up.
House flies poop… a lot. As you know, house flies like to live off a liquid diet. Because of this, their digestive system works more quickly, which means they defecate often. It is speculated that house flies defecate every time they land, even if it’s on their next meal. Yuck!
House flies can walk upside down. The anatomy of a house fly enables it to walk and climb on most surfaces no matter if it’s horizontal, vertical, or even upside down. This is because each foot has two fat foot pads (called pulvilli) which contain tiny hairs that produce a glue-like substance made of sugars and oils which provides them with excellent grip.
House flies have amazing reaction times. Ever wondered why it’s so difficult to swat a fly? Well, it’s pretty much down to their quick reaction times and their agility. House flies are able to process what they see and react accordingly at amazing speeds. To put things into perspective, our brains process around 60 images a second, whereas a fly can process around 250.
Flies are able to see behind them. Unlike human beings, house flies have compound eyes. These intricate eyes provide them with nearly a 360-degree field of view, which allows them to see behind themselves. Unlike ours, the eyes of a house fly don’t move. Being able to see in all directions allows them to navigate while also being on the lookout for danger
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