Do flies fly upside down?

[blut wump]

I was just laid on the floor resting my knee while I watched a fly buzzing around the ceiling. I realised that I couldn't tell at that distance whether it was upside down and then it landed on the ceiling. Obviously, at that point it was upside-down.

So, can flies fly upside-down and then just land or do they do a quick flip-and-land maneouvre to land on the ceiling? If they do a quick flip-and-land, do they have to get some upwards momentum going first or can they flip so quickly that they can just extend their legs and make contact? How long does it take them to learn this maneouvre and does it get harder as they get older?

Fascinating.

 

[perkele]

Sure they do.

Have you ever seen bumble bee "wrestle" with a wasp? I've seen. Bumble bee won.

 

[blut wump]

Apparently, flies beat their wings without brain interaction and work by a mechanism known as stretch activation. One set of muscles automatically fires when the contraction of the opposing muscle group causes it to stretch. This internal feedback loop goes on without any nerve impulses from the brain.

It's not known how they manage to stop flying.

 

[blut wump]

I found this on the 'Net. It's no surprise that I'm not the first to ask this question:

Prior to the availiblity of high-speed photography, scientists believed houseflies performed a fighter pilot style "barrel roll" when landing on the ceiling. However, modernized technology allowed investigators to see what is really happening. It turns out that the fly's movement is more akin to a circus acrobat than an airplane stunt. The fly, positioned very close to the ceiling, kicks up its front legs over its head and gains hold of the ceiling; once this foothold has been secured, the fly performs a somersault of sorts and gains a hold with its rear legs as well. The fly is able to grasp the ceiling because of sticky pads found under the claws of its feet.

http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/fly.html
http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/flies.asp

and a nice Sci Am article on fly flight in general
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000DF125-5545-1C75-9B81809EC588EF21

 

[DieselGunz]

VERY interesting stuff Blut

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Great read... interesting "cocktail party" topic to bring up

 

[Spartacus]

Apparently, flies beat their wings without brain interaction and work by a mechanism known as stretch activation. One set of muscles automatically fires when the contraction of the opposing muscle group causes it to stretch. This internal feedback loop goes on without any nerve impulses from the brain.

It's not known how they manage to stop flying.

similar mechanisms involved in a bikinimom post

 

[Scotsman]

Now they need to figure a way to keep the damn things from bugging you so much!



Yes horrible pun intended.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[mikefear]

oh the bee won, eh?

http://www.nearlygood.com/video/beefight.html

watch that

 

[mikefear]

30 hornets vs. 30,000 bees

"after only an hour, the ground is thick with severed bee heads and bodies"

 

[Scotsman]

Whilst at work out here in the patch we've had a fly infestation. I got fed up today and made a flyswatter out of a metal shelf hanger, cardboard, and duct tape. I killed at least 20 in the first hour of battle, little bastards were no match for me. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[mikefear]

Whilst at work out here in the patch we've had a fly infestation. I got fed up today and made a flyswatter out of a metal shelf hanger, cardboard, and duct tape. I killed at least 20 in the first hour of battle, little bastards were no match for me. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Cheers,
Scotsman

bully

 

[Scotsman]

bully

And?

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[blut wump]

Your flies are down.

 

[lanky]

man ,,you guys have to much time on your hands...let me go feed my ants dht powder now...lol.jk