Flies fly over your head and land close to you, snatching flies or roll magazines and approach carefully – and you attack!
But no matter how fast you are, flying speeds up most of the time, and it usually manages to maneuver your escape and escape harmlessly. (Is it trying to bother you ?!)
Flies have many modifications that improve speed, agility and perception, allowing them to detect and maneuver very well, even for the fastest. And new evidence shows that flies’ modified hind wings play a key role in their rapid launch into takeoff, often over a short period of time.
Related: 7 amazing insect ninja skills
House fly (Fly in the countryDiptera, or true flies, diptera flies have modified hind wings that have evolved into rod-like structures with buttons at the ends called halteres. It flies by detecting body rotation and sending information to the wings.
Flies in the Diptera Calyptratae subspecies, including house flies, also vibrate while walking. But scientists don̵
7;t know why. In a study published online Jan. 13, 2021 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Life Sciences.The researchers examined the flying calyptratae to see if the haltere’s oscillation affected air transitions, directing additional sensations to help coordinate movement in the wing and leg muscles.Using high-speed cameras to capture chained and unattended flies in the laboratory during takeoff, the scientists recorded images at speeds of up to 3,000 frames per second. They found that Calyptratae flies exited five times faster than other flies. Their takeoff takes an average of 0.007 seconds (7 milliseconds) and a single wingbeat.
“No Calyptratae has a take-off time longer than 14 milliseconds. [0.014 seconds]”The researchers report by comparing takeoffs of non-Calyptratae insects that took approximately 0.039 seconds (39 milliseconds) and approximately four wingbeats, according to the study.
The researchers then removed the halter, in which all Diptera flies had the nodular Calyptratae flies.These nodalized flies took much longer to become airborne. But takeoff times are not affected on non-Calyptratae flights without interruption. Stability during takeoff is also experienced by the elimination of the haltere, but only in Calyptratae flies, for example, the Calyptratae insect known as the flies that attempt to escape into the plane without interruption. “It always results in collisions,” the scientists reported.
“Haltere use resulted in greater speed and stability during rapid escapes – but only in the Calyptratae clade,” the scientists wrote in the study.
In the blink of an eye
Halteres are not the only secret weapon in the flies evasion arsenal. When flying in the air, it can perform an enviable maneuver of a fighter pilot. Fruit flies can be redirected in less than 1/100 of a second – about 50 times faster than what an eye blinks. Live Science previously reported.In wing experiments, the perfectly timed wings generated enough force to propel flies rapidly away from predators while in midair.
“These flies curled up to 90 degrees – some almost upside down – in order to strengthen and escape,” said Florian Muijres, who studies aeronautical biomechanics at the University of Washington in Seattle and now at Wageningen University and author of the study. Research in The Netherlands speaks to Live Science in 2014.
The flies also have excellent vision, which allows them to plan to jump away from the threat about 200 milliseconds before take off.Fruit flies use visual alarms to adjust their stance and determine which direction to direct them. To safety, the scientists wrote in 2008 in the journal. Current biology.
In fact, their increased perception of them juggles up to six times in a second that humans can. BBC report In 2017
The animal brain perceives the elapsed time by processing images with so-called speed. The “blink fusion rate” is a term that describes the number of images that flash into their brains per second. Roger Hardy, Emeritus Professor of Cellular Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge in England, implanted electrodes into the fly’s eye light receptors to measure their blinking rate of blinking, calculated as: 400 times per second The average blink fusion rate for humans is around 60, according to the BBC, which means that the motion you view as “normal” moves like a slow motion in flight.
With these built-in advantages, it’s no surprise that the flight you’re trying to slap can escape. However, one way that may improve your chances is to aim your SWAT at a point where the flight is more likely to go than where to rest, says Michael Dickinson of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. independent In 2011.
“It’s best not to hit the starting position of the fly,” Dickinson said. “Aim slightly forward to anticipate where the fly is going to jump.”
Originally published in Live Science.
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