Following the buzz

SS Rajamouli’s recent film Eega might have made the fly more endearing than ever before, but they have a completely different story to tell. Surprisingly, it doesn’t include reincarnation or revenge against anyone

It’s not harmless!

Flies don’t bite like mosquitoes or bees, but that doesn’t make them entire harmless either. It’s the most commonly found insect in the world and house flies account for over 91 per cent of all the flies in the world. It’s a pest which carries bacteria resulting in diseases like typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, yaws, anthrax, leprosy and tuberculosis. Houseflies don’t have teeth but they feed on liquid or semi-liquid substances after the solid material is softened by its saliva or vomit. Researchers have found that on an average, flies carry around 2 million bacteria on their body which makes them extremely dangerous.

Life Cycle

Female flies lay about 500-3000 eggs in their lifetime and it takes less than a day for the eggs to hatch, which explains why they multiply so fast. Males live for 15 days and females up to 26 days if they have access to sugar, milk and water. Most flies live near their breeding ground, but they can sometimes fly up to 20 miles in search of food.

How to kill a fly?

Despite having 4,000 lenses in each of their eyes, they can’t see anything beyond 36 inches; however, they detect movement of objects to compensate for their poor eyesight. We’ll leave it to you to decide how to take a stealth approach to swat a fly. They love flocking together which explains why they end up flying right towards the fly zapper.

Did you know?

Flies have only two wings whereas all other insects have four wings. The average speed in flight is about 4.5 mph and it can beat its wings 200 times a second which the primary reason why you hear the buzz whey they approach you. Despite inhabiting habitats for millions of years, human beings haven’t found a way to domesticate houseflies or have they been able to find any use for having them around.

Fast Facts

• Flies are the only insect to have two wings — all others have four
• Houseflies’ feet are 10 million times more sensitive to the taste of sugar than the human tongue
• The favourite colour of houseflies is red, followed by orange, black, violet, green, blue, white and yellow
• Flies defecate every four-five minutes
• Flies don’t bite or sting … they stab
• A single garbage can, if not emptied, can be the breeding ground for 30,000 flies.
• Houseflies are also known for their unique ability to hang from the ceiling.
• How to prevent a housefly infestation

• Keep your home clean.
• Remove kitchen trash every day and keep kitchen counters clean.
• Immediately remove rotting food from your home.
• Get a fly zapper if nothing else works.

Flies in popular culture

Kurt Neumann’s The Fly, an adaptation of George Langelaan’s short story of the same name, was a hugely popular horror film. It narrates the story of a scientist who transforms into a hybrid of a man and a fly after one of his experiements goes wrong. The success of the film spawned two more sequels and David Cronenberg’s film of the same name, which released in 1986, was a remake of this film.

S S Rajamouli’s Eega is perhaps the first film to depict a fly in a positive light. The film, which was made on a budget of Rs.30 crore, narrates the story of a fly which avenges its death in the previous birth. No wonder, the film is a big hit with the audience but this fly will definitely be the odd one out had it been left in the wilderness!

Tags: Eega, flies, SS Rajamouli

Category: Science & Tech, Science & Tech News