Why Do Flies Fly In Circles? - Perú - toda la información del país

Why do flies fly so aimlessly?

Flies can be particularly bothersome in the summer time due to entering homes through open windows. This is particularly the case for Ireland right now as in July pest control experts warned of an “increased threat of flies this summer” for households in Cork, Kerry, Sligo, Galway and Mayo.

Rentokil stated that they have had a 16% increase in callouts for infestations between January to July when compared with the same period last year. The insects can spread bacteria such as E-coli and campylobacter so it’s important to get help if you feel they’re excessive. Generally speaking, it is fairly normal to see a few in your home however during the summer months.

The pests get inside for a number of reasons, but most are attracted to rubbish, ripe produce, decaying organic filth or moisture. READ MORE: Mrs Hinch fans share penny trick to keep flies out of your home in hot weather Although not pleasant, they are an integral part of our ecosystem necessary for the recycling of dead matter and for feeding numerous animals, so it is important not to kill them.

Seeing a few flying about your house may not necessarily mean that you have a problem but many question why flies tend to get stuck in your house and fly in circles in the centre of the room – despite the light not being switched on.
The answer is actually quite surprising and though it may seem quite aimless, there is a purpose.

As insects are quite small, they require somewhat of a meeting place to try and attract a mate. According to Neuroethologist Jochen Zeil, who has a PHD in the Sexual Dimorphism in the Visual System of Flies from the University of Sussex, the insects seek out well-defined airspaces underneath landmarks as a way to mark their territory.

In the absence of other flies, they will then begin patrolling the area, turning at sharp right angles, and chase away other competitors.
The competing fly may then settle to patrol a space that is merely 10 – 30 cm underneath.
This positioning suggests that females approach landmarks from the side crossing the gaze of the males.

The bigger the swarm the more it will attract lady flies. Most people know that flies have phototaxis i.e. an attraction to light, so whilst it might be true that they fly towards your faux crystal chandelier when it is on this is not the primarily the reason. Photograph of a house fly eating bread (Image: Getty Images/Gallo Images) A fly’s vision is usually to blame for why it can’t make it back out of your living room. Unlike humans, flies have compound eyes which are made of thousands of individual visual receptors.

They’re super perceptive at sensing movement and can see a 360 degree view of the room but only have a visual range of a few yards. Due to lack of a pupil, they cannot control how much light they let in and therefore cannot focus and have trouble discerning colours. Unlike us, they can see polarized light in which the light travels in only one plane but this doesn’t help when it comes to perceiving a window.

If you want to help a fly out, turn off your lights and TV at night and let them be drawn to the light outside and fly out of an open window. READ NEXT:

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What flies fly in circles?

Behaviour – Fannia canicularis is spread worldwide. They have a life expectancy of two to three weeks. In Central Europe, about seven generations can develop per year. They are often found on excrement and on vertebrate animals. Because of their oscillating between excrement and human food, they are considered possible disease carriers.

From May to October, the lesser housefly comes frequently into buildings and is noticeable by its peculiar, silent flight in the room center, where it circles down-hanging articles, particularly lamps. It changes the flight direction jerkily. This is a patrol flight, in which the males supervise, if necessary, their district and attack intruders.

During short breaks and in the night hours, the flies sit on lamps or on walls and leave their small excrement marks. In the wild, tree branches serve the flies for their swarm dances.

Why do flies fly in weird patterns?

Why don’t flies fly in a straight line? Asked by: Kenneth Bailey, Belfast To escape from predators, flies have evolved a highly aerobatic flying style. Instead of turning by flapping harder with one wing than the other, they roll their body to one side and pull up, like a fighter pilot in a high-G turn.

What smell do flies hate the most?

3. Natural and Essential Oils – Certain scents are great for repelling insects and for keeping flies away. Create a spray by mixing two cups of water or vodka and several drops of your chosen essential oil. Eucalyptus oil is a good option, but you can also use lavender, citrus, pine, clove, peppermint, and thyme essential oils.

Most flies hate these scents, so the oils will act as a fly repellent.
You can also smear some essential oils on the window and door frames — just make sure it’s out of reach of any pets, since some essential oils might be toxic to them, too! NOTE: If you don’t want to use essential oil, you can use dried versions of herbs and spices.

Dried cloves, lavender, and thyme will also create a smell that will keep flies away. They make great decorations, too!

Do flies see us as slow?

Why are flies so much faster than humans? The answer is surprising. Rui Andrade, a specialist in these small insects and a promoter of the Portuguese group Diptera on Facebook, explains what makes flies so difficult to catch. In Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira, there are about 3,000 known species of flies and mosquitoes – including the Housefly ( Musca domestica ), which frequents our homes; the Face Fly ( Musca autumnalis), one of the most common which prefers pastures; or the Flower flies. The latter, known as Syrphids, can be found in gardens and mimic bees and wasps to keep predators away. Musca domestica © Rui Andrade Musca autumnalis © Rui Andrade “}}, }] })> However, the number of species of flies and mosquitoes “is constantly evolving”, as new discoveries emerge every year, adds Rui Andrade. Both belong to the order Diptera, a term that derived from the Greek words for “two wings” ( di + pteron ). “Most insects have four functional wings, but in Diptera, the hind pair have evolved into two club-shaped structures, called Halteres, that provide stability during flight.” Merodon equestris © Rui Andrade “}}] })> So why is it so hard to catch a fly? It may be that this group of insects have a very well-developed sense of hearing and therefore detect any movement, however small it may be but that is not the case. “Most flies don’t hear, they detect predators mainly by using their eyesight.” Episyrphus balteatus © Rui Andrade “}}] })> In fact, scientists have shown that flies and other small insects perceive time differently. “There are studies that demonstrate that flies see the world in slow motion”, explains Rui Andrade, who adds that this characteristic “is related to the size of the animal and its metabolism”. Psilota atra © Rui Andrade “}}] })> “Animals’ brains perceive the passage of time by processing images at different speeds. Smaller animals tend to process more images per second, which makes time seem to go by slower.” Spilomyia digitata © Rui Andrade “}}] })> Therefore, the hands of a clock move much slower for a mosquito than for a human. If there’s a hand trying to catch it, for the fly it’s like watching it in slow motion, giving it plenty time to take-off. This rule also applies to other animals, not just insects, because “in general, the smaller the animal and the faster its metabolism, the slower they perceive the passage of time.” Sphaerophoria scripta © Rui Andrade “}}] })> There is another group of flies known as Calliphoridae that have an additional advantage, adds the expert. Flies in this group, such as Houseflies and Blow Flies, use the two club-shaped structures that emerge from the hind wings to stabilize their flight not just during the flight itself but during take-off as well. This allows them to escape even faster when someone tries to hunt them down. Every month, throughout the year, magazine reveals some of the phenomena taking place that in the Gulbenkian Garden and in the natural world. Updated on 24 september 2021 : Why are flies so much faster than humans?

Why do flies fly at your face?

Maggie Hardy, The University of Queensland You know the drill. A picnic in the park, a walk in the bush or a barbecue with friends and family – all perfect summer activities that can be ruined by annoying flies that never leave you alone. So why do they do it and what do they want ? Flies are one of the most diverse insect orders, with more than 150,000 species described worldwide in more than 150 different insect families. Pinned down: That’s one way of killing a blowfly. CSIRO, CC BY There are two main types of fly: the Nematocera (which includes mosquitoes and non-biting crane flies) and the Brachycera (which includes house flies, fruit flies, and horse flies). In Australia, there is only one type of fly that’s attracted to us, rather than our blood: the bush fly ( Musca vetustissima, Diptera: Muscidae), which is a non-biting fly and close relative of the house fly ( Musca domestica ).

These flies are after the proteins, carbohydrates, salts, and sugars naturally present on your skin. All the other flies around you are probably after your blood, and that includes mosquitoes and horse flies. And yes, unfortunately some people are more attractive to mosquitoes than others. Although mosquitoes and other blood-feeding insects are attracted to the carbon dioxide we exhale, we know the insect sensory system also helps find exposed skin,

Since the skin near our faces is often exposed, that’s one reason flies are always buzzing around your face and hands.

What is a fly’s weakness?

How can you make your home a no-fly zone? From hairspray to superglue, choose your weapon By Updated: 02:32 BST, 18 August 2008 Every year it’s the same. No, not the awful August weather – but the problem of how to get rid of those wretched flies that are an indelible part of the British summer. Swat: What is the best way to get rid of flies? TWO-PRONGED APPROACH Despite a head that can rotate nearly full-circle and two gigantic eyes that are made up of 4,000 lenses, all of which operate independently, the average housefly has a number of weaknesses in its highly attuned evasion capabilities.

Flies cannot fly off at an angle and have to fly straight upwards before being able to head off in another direction.
This leaves them vulnerable for the first few inches of their flight and easier to trap.
Another weakness is the fly’s inability to respond when confronted with two threats at the same time.

Therefore, to take advantage of this, simply roll up two copies of the Daily Mail and with one in each hand, swat the fly with both at the same time from opposite directions. TWO TURN HEAT UP.OR DOWN Although flies love hot weather, they don’t like it too hot – or too cold, for that matter.

Anything above 38C (100F) and they’re slowing down, and if the temperature rises above 47C (116F) it is fatal (as it is for many humans, too).
However, if the temperature drops to 9C (48F), a normal housefly will be unable to fly, and temperatures below 7C (44F) usually prove fatal to the buzzing pests – whose average lifespan is between 20 and 30 days.
So if you don’t mind a chilly home, reach for the thermostat.
VACUUM CLEANER Best suited to attacking flies on walls.

Despite incredibly evolved evasion reaction abilities, flies do not have any motion detectors on their backs, rendering them vulnerable to rearguard ambush.
Once you are close enough, the vacuum cleaner will do its work and suck the fly into the machine.
VENUS FLYTRAPS
A Carnivorous plant whose natural habitat is the swamp, this is the ultimate natural fly-killing machine.

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Its hinged leaves are covered with tiny hairs and when a fly touches more than one of these, while on the leaf, the two sides of the leaf snap shut in under 0.1 seconds, trapping the fly.

The cage then becomes a sort of stomach and the fly is digested over the next ten days with enzymes secreted by the plant.
However, Venus Flytraps average only three captures during their lifespan.
ELASTIC BANDS
An Effectively aimed and flicked elastic band should stun any stationary fly – particularly those hard-to-get types that sit on the ceiling thanks to the sticky substance secreted by glands on their hairy legs.
HAIRSPRAY
Hairsprays work by creating a liquid elastic that ‘freezes’ and stiffens your hair.
A similar process occurs when you spray it on a fly.
Its wings – which normally beat between 200 and 330 times a second – are frozen, rendering it a grounded and easy target.
ALTERNATIVE SPRAYS Instead of buying expensive insect spray, make your own using an empty pump-action spray bottle, some water and a spot of dishwashing liquid.

The detergent in the solution disrupts the fly’s breathing apparatus, leaving it disorientated and an easy target. A dash of vinegar or window cleaner is an effective alternative to detergent. TRADITIONAL FLY-SWATTER

Simple and effective, this succeeds primarily because of its mesh of holes which both increase speed and reduce air resistance during the swat and also minimise the air disruption that otherwise would warn the fly that an object is approaching.
The ‘fly bat’ (as it was then called) was invented by Kansas schoolteacher Frank Rose in 1905, after the state was overrun by the insects.
The modern battery-powered version, which resembles a tennis racket, delivers an abrupt and deadly electric shock to any fly it comes into contact with.
HAND-CLAPPING

This is the oldest method of fly-killing and requires speed, skill and practice. It remains the most effective and satisfying solution.

Flies are extremely agile in the air, so you have to be quick.
The key is to clap higher than where you think the fly is heading.
Even if you miss, the sonic boom from your clap should momentarily stun the fly, giving you a second chance.
Once the fly has been killed, don’t forget to wash your hands.
FLYPAPER ALTERNATIVES Instead of buying commercial flypaper, try using a strip of paper with a dot of superglue on it and a few small pieces of banana, biscuit or cake.
The fly will be drawn to the food (they have a liking for sugar and protein) and once it lands on the strip will begin to feast.
As houseflies can eat only liquid food, the fly will spit out saliva onto the food to break it down and will then suck it up through its funnel-like proboscis, found at the base of the head.
While it is doing this the superglue will be doing its work, trapping the fly on the paper.

MATCHBOX Approach your quarry slowly from behind with a large matchbox. Place it open over the fly, thus trapping it, then close the matchbox. Take outside and release the fly. OPEN DOOR AT TWILIGHT Those humane souls who prefer not to hurt a fly can still be rid of them by waiting until twilight and then simply opening their front or back door and letting them out.

Why do flies follow you?

What attracts flies to sit on humans? –

Flies are attracted to carbon dioxide which human beings breathe out.Flies feed on dead cells and open wounds.Oily hair is an attractant.Less hairy skin gives the fly spaces to vomit.Some body-odours are more attractive to flies than others.

If you need assistance, can help you to eliminate an infestation and help prevent flies from entering your business or home. Contact our team today. : What Attracts Flies | Prevent An Infestation

Do flies sleep at night?

Fly sleep – Decades of research in circadian rhythms in Drosophila had clearly shown that fruit flies are active and move around during the day, much less so during the night. However, only in 2000 it became clear that the sustained periods of immobility during the night represented a sleep-like state and not just quiet wakefulness, because they were associated with a reversible increase in arousal threshold. Two independent groups of researchers provided the conclusive proof that Drosophila sleep indeed shares all the fundamental features of mammalian sleep ( Hendricks et al.2000 ; Shaw et al.2000 ). Sleep is a complex integrative phenomenon that cannot be defined using one single criterion. Therefore in flies, like in mammals, sleep was defined using multiple criteria, the first of which is behavioral quiescence. Fly sleep behavior was first monitored using 3 methods: visual observation, an ultrasound activity monitoring system, and an automatic infrared system ( Hendricks et al.2000 ; Shaw et al.2000 ). All provided similar results and confirmed that during the night flies show sustained periods of complete immobility that can last several hours. The most critical feature of sleep, however, is not immobility, but the presence of a reduced ability to respond to the external world. This decreased responsiveness is reversible, a feature that allows sleep to be distinguished from coma. Most importantly, an increase in arousal threshold distinguishes sleep from quiet wakefulness. Arousal thresholds in flies have been measured using vibratory, visual, or auditory stimuli ( Shaw et al.2000 ; Nitz et al.2002 ; Huber et al.2004 ). In all cases it was found that flies that had been moving around immediately before the stimulus readily responded to low and medium stimulus intensities. By contrast, flies that had been behaviorally quiescent for 5 min or more rarely showed a motor response, although they quickly responded when the stimulus intensity was increased. Thus, sleep can be operatively defined in flies as any period of behavioral quiescence longer than 5 minutes. Sleep is highly regulated according to 2 processes: the circadian process and the homeostatic process ( Borbely 1982 ). The circadian regulation is responsible for the change in sleep propensity that is tied to the time of day, with obvious adaptive advantages. Flies are diurnal animals and sleep mainly at night, even when kept in constant darkness ( Shaw et al.2000 ). In mammals the circadian and homeostatic regulation of sleep can be dissociated ( Dijk and Lockley 2002 ) ( Cajochen et al.2002 ), at least to some extent. For instance, rats in which the central circadian clock has been destroyed by complete lesions of the suprachiasmatic nucleus no longer sleep in consolidated periods during the day (rats, unlike flies, are nocturnal) but rather show recurring episodes of sleep, lasting 1–3 hours each, across the 24-hour cycle ( Mistlberger et al.1983 ) ( Tobler et al.1983 ). When allowed to sleep after several hours of sleep deprivation, however, these rats still show a sleep rebound. A similar dissociation can be seen in flies in which the central circadian clock has been genetically destroyed by a mutation in one canonical circadian gene, e.g. cycle, period, or Clock ( Shaw et al.2000 ). These mutant flies sleep across the entire 24 hour period rather than just at night. However, after 24 hours of sleep deprivation, they still show a sleep rebound ( Shaw et al.2000 ). The homeostatic process reflects sleep pressure depending on the length of prior waking: the longer one stays awake, the longer and more intensively one sleeps ( Borbely 1982 ). This homeostatic component represents the essential aspect of sleep whose function remains mysterious. In flies, like in rodents and humans, sleep deprivation is followed by a sleep rebound characterized by an increase in the duration and/or in the intensity of sleep ( Huber et al.2004 ). Like in mammals, most of this sleep rebound occurs immediately after the end of the sleep deprivation period, is more pronounced after longer (12–24 hours) than after shorter (6 hours) periods of sleep loss, and the recovered sleep only represents a fraction of what was lost. Importantly, there is no increase in sleep duration when flies are subjected to 12 hours of the same stimulation during the day (when they are normally awake), ruling out non-specific effects. In mammals, sleep after sleep deprivation is also richer in slow-wave activity, a well-characterized EEG marker of sleep intensity and sleep pressure, and is less fragmented, i.e. there are fewer periods of brief awakenings during sleep ( Tobler 2005 ). In mammals, the increase in SWA after sleep deprivation is negatively correlated with the decrease in the number of brief awakenings ( Franken et al.1991 ). Sleep fragmentation as measured by the number of brief awakenings is also reduced in flies after sleep deprivation ( Huber et al.2004 ). Finally, in flies the recovery sleep that follows sleep deprivation is associated with a further increase in arousal threshold relative to baseline sleep, another indication that its intensity is increased ( Huber et al.2004 ). The ability of flies to move away from a noxious stimulus is impaired after 24 hours of sleep deprivation. This occurs despite the fact that sleep deprived flies, during testing, do not show an overall decrease in their spontaneous locomotor activity, ruling out non-specific effects of fatigue ( Huber et al.2004 ). It is still unknown whether sleep deprivation also affects the acquisition and/or the maintenance of memory, although it is clear that at least some short-sleeping mutants have impaired memory (see below). Fly sleep seems to be sensitive to at least some of the same stimulants and hypnotics that modulate behavioral states in mammals. When given caffeine ( Shaw et al.2000 ) ( Hendricks et al.2000 ), modafinil ( Hendricks et al.2003 ), or amphetamines ( Andretic et al.2005 ), flies stay awake longer. By contrast, when fed with antihistamines, they go to sleep earlier ( Shaw et al.2000 ). Other similarities between fly and human sleep are present at the molecular level. Hundreds of transcripts change their expression in the rat, mouse, and sparrow brain between sleep and wakefulness, suggesting that in both birds and mammals sleep and wakefulness differ significantly at the molecular level ( Cirelli et al.2004 ) ( Terao et al.2006 ; Mackiewicz et al.2007 ; Jones et al. in press ). Using transcriptomics approaches such as mRNA differential display and microarray technology, which assess the expression of thousand of genes simultaneously, it was found that this is also the case in fruit flies ( Cirelli et al.2005a ). As in rats, transcripts with higher expression in wakefulness and in sleep belong to different functional categories, and in several cases these groups overlap with those previously identified in rats. Wakefulness-related genes code for transcription factors and for proteins involved in synaptic plasticity, stress response, immune response, glutamatergic transmission, and carbohydrate metabolism. Sleep-related transcripts include glial genes and several genes involved in lipid metabolism. In most mammalian studies, sleep is defined using behavioral as well as electroencephalographic (EEG) criteria: slow waves and spindles characterize non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, while a high-frequency low amplitude EEG pattern with reduced muscle tone is present during REM sleep. Prolonged recordings of local field potentials (LFPs) from the medial part of the fly brain have been obtained in non-anaesthetized flies ( Nitz et al.2002 ). LFPs from awake, moving fruit flies are dominated by spike-like potentials ( Nitz et al.2002 ). These spikes largely disappear during the quiescent state when arousal thresholds are increased. Targeted genetic manipulations demonstrated that LFPs had their origin in brain activity and were not merely an artifact of movement or electromyographic activity ( Nitz et al.2002 ). Thus, like in mammals, wakefulness and sleep in fruit flies are accompanied by different patterns of brain electrical activity. However, the specific EEG features of mammalian sleep depend on the anatomy of the thalamocortical system, which does not exist in flies. It is not surprising, therefore, that sleep-related EEG events such as slow waves and spindles, which dominate the EEG during NREM sleep in birds and mammals, are not seen in flies. Also, electrical activity in neurons undergoes well characterized changes in mammals, including the occurrence, during NREM sleep, of slow (<1 Hz) oscillations in membrane potential. Whether such slow oscillations are also present in flies remains to be determined. In the same fly, daily sleep amount and the timing of the major sleep phase are extremely consistent from one day to another ( Cirelli 2003 ). The same parameters, however, vary significantly within individuals of the same fly population, even when age and housing conditions are kept constant. The response to sleep deprivation also shows a strong interindividual variability, both in terms of sleep rebound as well as in terms of the effects on performance. This is why the characterization of sleep in any wild-type or mutant fly line requires the analysis of several individuals. Also, for the same reason, sleep cannot be measured at a population level, but needs to be quantified in individual flies. Recent studies in humans have also brought new attention to the issue of interindividual variability in sleep amount and in the response to sleep loss ( Van Dongen et al.2005 ). Importantly, in humans both sleep duration and the response to sleep deprivation show high intraindividual consistency, suggesting that they are trait-like ( Tucker et al.2007 ). There are also features that distinguish fly sleep from mammalian sleep. Most animals including humans assume a typical posture when they go to sleep. Flies, however, do not appear to do so, at least not when their behavior is recorded inside the small glass tubes routinely used in sleep studies. Thus, based on the fly posture, it is not possible to distinguish quiet waking from sleep (unless one measures arousal thresholds). Several mammals clearly also change their posture when transitioning from NREM to REM sleep, due to the loss of muscular tone. As mentioned above, no study in flies so far has been able to detect different phases of sleep, similar to the NREM and REM phases in mammalian sleep, but a more accurate behavioral analysis, in more naturalistic conditions, has still to be performed.

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Do flies know what they’re doing?

Caltech Scientists Discover Why Flies Are So Hard to Swat PASADENA, Calif.-Over the past two decades, Michael Dickinson has been interviewed by reporters hundreds of times about his research on the biomechanics of insect flight. One question from the press has always dogged him: Why are flies so hard to swat? “Now I can finally answer,” says Dickinson, the Esther M.

And Abe M.
Zarem Professor of Bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Using high-resolution, high-speed digital imaging of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) faced with a looming swatter, Dickinson and graduate student Gwyneth Card have determined the secret to a fly’s evasive maneuvering.

Long before the fly leaps, its tiny brain calculates the location of the impending threat, comes up with an escape plan, and places its legs in an optimal position to hop out of the way in the opposite direction. All of this action takes place within about 100 milliseconds after the fly first spots the swatter.

This illustrates how rapidly the fly’s brain can process sensory information into an appropriate motor response,” Dickinson says. For example, the videos showed that if the descending swatter-actually, a 14-centimeter-diameter black disk, dropping at a 50-degree angle toward a fly standing at the center of a small platform-comes from in front of the fly, the fly moves its middle legs forward and leans back, then raises and extends its legs to push off backward.

When the threat comes from the back, however, the fly (which has a nearly 360-degree field of view and can see behind itself) moves its middle legs a tiny bit backwards. With a threat from the side, the fly keeps its middle legs stationary, but leans its whole body in the opposite direction before it jumps.

We also found that when the fly makes planning movements prior to take-off, it takes into account its body position at the time it first sees the threat,” Dickinson says.
When it first notices an approaching threat, a fly’s body might be in any sort of posture depending on what it was doing at the time, like grooming, feeding, walking, or courting.

Our experiments showed that the fly somehow ‘knows’ whether it needs to make large or small postural changes to reach the correct preflight posture. This means that the fly must integrate visual information from its eyes, which tell it where the threat is approaching from, with mechanosensory information from its legs, which tells it how to move to reach the proper preflight pose.” The results offer new insight into the fly nervous system, and suggest that within the fly brain there is a map in which the position of the looming threat “is transformed into an appropriate pattern of leg and body motion prior to take off,” Dickinson says.

This is a rather sophisticated sensory-to-motor transformation and the search is on to find the place in the brain where this happens,” he says. Dickinson’s research also suggests an optimal method for actually swatting a fly. “It is best not to swat at the fly’s starting position, but rather to aim a bit forward of that to anticipate where the fly is going to jump when it first sees your swatter,” he says.

The paper, “Visually Mediated Motor Planning in the Escape Response of Drosophila,” will be published August 28 in the journal Current Biology. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. : Caltech Scientists Discover Why Flies Are So Hard to Swat

Why are flies so scary looking?

Photo: Sakai Yuji/Getty Images Why let creepy clowns get all the attention? From now until Halloween, Science of Us is investigating the psychology behind some of the most common fears, In a 2013 interview with Popular Science, ecologist Jeffrey Lockwood, author of The Infested Mind, recalled a time when he found himself caught in a massive grasshopper swarm: “I had worked with insects for years and grasshoppers for a very long period,” he said, “but their numbers and behavior and their overwhelming capacity conspired to generate a panic attack, which was extremely disturbing for me.

I’d never had such a reaction to insects, or to grasshoppers in particular, until that time.” Even a guy who makes his living studying bugs, in other words, is not immune to their strange, terrifying power. And it is strange: We know, rationally, that most of these tiny creatures can’t hurt us, and yet we shriek when they land on our skin, give them prominent roles in our horror movies, and spend a ton of time and money to rid them from our homes.

There’s an entry in the DSM-5 for an extreme fear of insects — it’s called entemophobia, and can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy — but even when it hasn’t reached pathological levels, the fear is real and widespread. In Chapman University’s 2016 Survey on American Fears, 25 percent of respondents said they were afraid of insects and/or spiders.

That’s more than the number of people who feared becoming the victim of a violent crime, germs, or even dying. Why is something so small and harmless considered so scary? Because some of them are actually dangerous. To be fair, insects aren’t always so innocent: Some of them bite or sting. The Zika epidemic over the past year has been an acute reminder that they can carry devastating diseases,

And this potential of a few species to cause harm, some scientists believe, may have ruined things for the whole bunch — that our fear of things that creep and crawl is an overly cautious, but hardwired, form of self-preservation. In one 2001 study, for example, the study’s authors showed volunteers pictures containing elements that were either threatening (spiders and snakes) or neutral (mushrooms and flowers) and asked them to locate the target object within the photo.

Overall, the participants spotted the spiders and snakes much more quickly than anything else; those who had previously indicated on a questionnaire that they were afraid of either species proved especially speedy at homing in on them.
The researchers used the results to argue that we’ve evolved to be especially attuned to the presence of potentially dangerous animals, however small: “Certainly there are certain stimuli that are pre-wired in the brain because they have been perennially dangerous to our ancestors,” lead study author Arne Öhman, a psychologist at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, told National Geographic at the time.

Because we find them disgusting. But we aren’t just afraid of insects the same way we would fear other dangerous animals, like lions or bears. There are plenty of species that we’d run from if we saw them in the wild, but that we have no qualms about making into cuddly animated characters — but there’s a reason we don’t have bugs gracing the covers of our cereal boxes or appearing as lovable heroes in our kids’ cartoons: The fear of insects is a more complicated fear, one that’s tightly bound up with feelings of disgust.

Psychologists studying disgust talk about something called the ” rejection response ” — the overwhelming feeling that you need to get this thing away from you, like, right now, Disgust is shaped in part by culture, but it also has its roots in biology, and the rejection response, like fear, is a mechanism designed to keep us safe: We’re disgusted by feces and rotting food, for instance, because each has the potential to make us sick.

Along those same lines, the presence of insects often indicates that something isn’t safe to consume or touch. Over time, we’ve come to associate the messenger with the threat itself. Because they look weird, or there are too many of them, or they trespass on our turf, or There are other theories, too.

Some researchers believe insects are terrifying mainly because their physical forms are so unlike our own — skeletons outside their bodies, a skittery way of moving, too many legs and too many eyes. Others have argued that their sheer numbers stir something deeper inside our psyches: The Jungian psychologist James Hillman, for instance, has argued that a swarm of insects “threatens our fondly cherished human notions of individuality and independence Imagining insects numerically threatens the individualized fantasy of a unique and unitary human being indicate insignificance of us as individuals.” In his Popular Science interview, Lockwood offered up another idea: These days, most of us see insects primarily as uninvited guests.

“Now that we’ve moved into urban environments where close quarters and hygiene are at a premium,” he said, “we find that the vast majority of our interactions with insects are negative in that they are the things that are invading our homes and our private spaces,” rather than things we see out in nature.

Most of the time, then, an encounter with a bug will feel like an invasion — like an encroachment on our home territory, a place where we’re supposed to feel safe and clean and in control.
They may be tiny, but they’re packing some hefty symbolism.
It’s a contrast that, come to think of it, sums up most of the theories on their fearsomeness pretty tidily.

Bugs Are Scary Because Your Brain Confuses Disgust With Fear

Why do flies like to mess with humans?

Why Do Flies Fly Toward and Land on People? Q: So here’s something that I’ve always wondered and I know I’m not alone in this: Given that I don’t look or smell like a pile of dog poop and that my home isn’t subject to demonic possession, why do houseflies insist on flying toward and landing on me? This has always baffled me since they, or at least most flies that I encounter, don’t bite a la mosquitoes or horseflies and don’t seem to really “want” anything other than to drive me nuts.

The lady of the flies, Veronica, Windsor, Ontario Hey Veronica,

I’ve always wondered the same thing. No matter how many times you shoo, swat and scream, “What do you want from me? Go away!” flies just never seem to get the point. They just keep on coming back for more. Given that the common housefly doesn’t have any interest in sucking blood (feeding on open wounds is a different story) you think they’d fly away from humans.

After all, we’re a lot larger, more intimidating and come brandishing swatters. The fact of the matter is that houseflies are scavengers and land on us because, well, they like us: The human body, like some of their favorite food sources – feces, food and rotting flesh – radiates a sense of warmth and nourishment.

And while not interested in biting (they don’t have the equipment for that), the common housefly, or musca domestica, does want to suck up the salt, dead skin, oil and whatever they find edible on the exposed epidermis with their straw-like tongues. Thanks to hearty appetites aided by an excellent sense of smell and a pair of complex eyes that cover half of their heads, houseflies also land on us and everything else in sight because they’re constantly on the hunt for a nice warm place to poop, vomit (they vomit on solid foods to liquefy it and make it edible) and lay eggs.

This charming land-and-defecate-everywhere routine has made flies vectors of communicable diseases, ranging from typhoid to tuberculosis.
The pathogens transmitted by houseflies, picked up after feasting on things like dung heaps and dead animals, are carried on their legs and around their mouths.
Think about it: Each time a fly lands on your arm or takes a stroll around the rim of your mug of morning coffee, it could be shaking a whole lot of germs off of its hairy little legs.

Houseflies aren’t just annoying, Veronica; they can be quite dangerous. The easiest, most inexpensive way to make the area in and around your home a “no fly” zone as you put it is to take basic preventative measures. If you have a dog and aren’t quick to pick up and dispose of its poop you should start making this your number one priority.

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There’s a reason why the filthy, winged critters love dog poop: It serves as both an all-you-can-eat buffet and an ideal egg depository. Also, don’t leave food out for too long, maintain a clean and tidy house (pay special attention to kitchen surfaces), empty your garbage cans regularly and keep an eye out for organic rotting matter.

It’s about keeping a spic-and-span, sanitary home. If houseflies keep on inviting themselves into your home, you should obviously shut windows and doors but also check for cracks and holes (particularly around window screens) that they might be using as a secret “back door.” I’d avoid using chemical pesticides but do recommend trying out a DIY fly trap or homemade flypaper.

What do flies hate to be around?

6 natural ways to keep pesky flies away The start of Summer marks a tidal wave of flies attempting to make their way in doors. You could seal your house up tight and shut every door, window, nook and cranny – but that’s no way to live right? The next best alternative? Spray your fly infested house with a bunch of nasty chemicals you can’t even pronounce?, Spend your days swatting them with a wet tea towel or this mornings newspaper? We don’t think so.

We’ve got better things to do with our time (like go to the beach) than spend our days chasing the little buggers around the house with a spray can, wet tea towel or newspaper, and we think you’ve got better things to do too.
Give these natural, cheap and easy alternatives a go, and bid goodbye to those pesky little buggers before they even dare set a wing in your window.

Basil – Flies hate the smell of basil. Place a few basil plants in your kitchen and watch them disappear. Plus, the basil doubles as a great on hand garnish, win win right? Cloves – Flies detest the smell of cloves. Place a bowl of dried cloves in each room where you are experiencing problems with flies, and watch them vanish! Despite its effectiveness, this is not a good solution if you dislike the smell of cloves yourself, as then you’re bound to be vanishing from the room too, right?

Mint, lavender and marigold – plant these in your garden and have pots in your house to deter them from entering your property before they even make it to the front door! Cinnamon – use cinnamon as an air freshner, as flies hate the smell! Lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils – Not only will spraying these oils around the house create a beautiful aroma, but they will also deter those pesky flies too.

Apple cider vinegar – Flies love the smell of apples and vinegar. Create a homemade trap by mixing some apple cider vinegar with a natural liquid soap in a bowl. The flies will be attracted to the aroma, but will become trapped by the surface tension created by the soap in the liquid solution.

How do flies get in the house when windows are closed?

3. Through Cracks and Crevices – Another way flies may be getting into your home is through cracks and crevices n your home! You may not think much about cracks or open spaces in the window sills or walls, but flies and other bugs will jump at the opportunity to make their way through these little spaces. They can also find their way in through the vents in your home ! Yikes!

What are flies most afraid of?

video: A single fly walks back and forth, and briefly grooms, before a shadow moves overhead. The fly jumps and freezes in place, its wings and other appendages held motionless. After about 5 seconds, the fly suddenly breaks its freezing posture, and escapes.

View more Credit: William T. Gibson When fruit flies respond to the threat of an overhead shadow, are they afraid? That’s a hard question to answer, say researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on May 14. However, their studies do show that flies’ response to visual threats includes many essential elements of what we humans call fear.

David J. Anderson of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the California Institute of Technology and his colleagues say that their findings in flies are a step toward dissecting the fundamental neurochemistry, neuropeptides, and neural circuitry underlying fear and other emotion states.

No one will argue with you if you claim that flies have four fundamental drives just as humans do: feeding, fighting, fleeing, and mating,” says William T.
Gibson, a Caltech postdoctoral fellow and first author on the study.
Taking the question a step further-whether flies that flee a stimulus are actually afraid of that stimulus-is much more difficult.” To ask the question in a different and less problematic way, the researchers dissected fear into its fundamental building blocks, which they refer to as “emotion primitives.” First, fear is persistent, Gibson explains.

If you hear the sound of a gun, the feeling of fear it provokes will continue for a period of time. Fear is also scalable; the more gunshots you hear, the more afraid you’ll become. Fear is generalizable across different contexts, but it is also trans-situational.

Once you’re afraid, you’re more likely to respond in fear to other triggers: the clang of a pan, for instance, or a loud knock at the door.
The question then was this: In terms of these building blocks of emotions, does a fly’s response to shadows resemble our response to the sound of a gun? Very much so, the new study shows.

Anderson and colleagues came to that conclusion after enclosing flies in an arena where they were exposed repeatedly to an overhead shadow. In collaboration with Pietro Perona’s computer vision group, also at Caltech, the team carefully analyzed the flies’ behaviors as captured on video, which showed that shadows promoted graded and persistent increases in the flies’ speed and hopping.

Occasionally, the insects froze in place, a defensive behavior also observed in the fear responses of rodents.
The shadows also caused hungry flies to leave a food source, suggesting that the experience was generally negative and generalized from one context to another.
It took time before those flies would return to their food following their dispersal by the shadow, suggesting a slow decay of the insects’ internal, defensive state.

Importantly, the more shadows the flies were exposed to, the longer it took for them to “calm down” and return to the food. In other words, when flies flee in response to a shadow, it’s more than a momentary escape. It’s a lasting physiological state much like fear.

And, if that’s true, it means that flies could help us understand in a very fundamental way what fear and other emotions are made of. “The argument that this paper makes is that the Drosophila system may be an excellent model for emotion states due to the relative simplicity of its nervous system, combined simultaneously with the behavioral complexity it exhibits,” Gibson says.

“Such a simple system, leveraged with the power of neurogenetic screens, may make it possible to identify new molecular players involved in the control of emotion states.” The next step, the researchers say, is to dissect the neural circuitry involved in the flies’ shadow response.

### Current Biology, Gibson et al.: “Behavioral responses to a repetitive shadow stimulus express a persistent state of defensive arousal in Drosophila” http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.03.058 Current Biology, published by Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that features papers across all areas of biology.

Current Biology strives to foster communication across fields of biology, both by publishing important findings of general interest and through highly accessible front matter for non-specialists. For more information please visit http://www.cell.com/current-biology,

What smell do flies love?

What scents attract flies? – Before we dive into the scents that will repel flies, let’s touch on the scents that attract them. Why would you want to know what attracts flies? Simple — so you can keep those scents out of your home and make it less appealing to flies! Here are some of the most well-known scents that can lure flies:

House flies : Unpleasant, decaying smells (rotting meat, decomposing garbage, etc.) Fruit flies : Sweet, sugary smells (ripe or rotting fruit, spilled soda or juice, alcohol, etc.) Drain flies : Moist, mildewy smells

Uncovered trash cans can easily entice house flies (and sometimes fruit flies, depending on what is left in your trash can). House flies might also make their way into their yard if they detect the smell of manure or pet feces. Once they’re in your yard, they can travel into your house, especially if you leave the doors or windows open.

What are flies least attracted to?

Are There Paint Colors That Repel Insects? – Because bugs see colors on the UV spectrum, they cannot register hues of green or blue. Painters even use blue paint to repel bees and wasps. Painting your porch ceiling in a blue tone could repel wasps, leading to fewer wasp-eating spiders around your home! Flies and mosquitoes, on the other hand, are attracted to blue tones and repelled by warm tones like yellow and orange. They prefer dark colors because they use their heat receptors to locate warm bodies to feed on. When picking your colors, it’s important to research what works for you and find paint colors that repel insects in your area.

Why are there so many flies in the middle of my room?

Many fly species are drawn to the filth that is associated with garbage, waste and/or scraps. Keeping your house clean by doing decent waste management, including keeping your garbage under tight lids and removing it regularly can help prevent flies from finding your home attractive to them.

Why do flies fly in a square in the middle of a room?

Presumably you are talking about flies you see indoors or in a shaded spot in the woods repeatedly flying in a relatively small space, in a ‘square’. They are forming a mating lek. It is a Swedish word usually used to define a display space for males to engage in competitive displays and female-attracting performances.

Why are there cluster flies in my room?

How can I get rid of flies? – Clustering flies can enter your home through the tiniest cracks around door and window frames, but also through any other small unsealed opening. To prevent infestation:

Make sure that all screens fit properly and that there are no cracks or holes that would allow flies to enter your house. Weather strip windows and doors. Fill any cracks or crevices with caulking around doors, window frames, and other openings in the building structure. Install insect screening over air vents in soffits.

What do flies hate to be around?

We’ve got better things to do with our time (like go to the beach) than spend our days chasing the little buggers around the house with a spray can, wet tea towel or newspaper, and we think you’ve got better things to do too.
Give these natural, cheap and easy alternatives a go, and bid goodbye to those pesky little buggers before they even dare set a wing in your window.