A fly buzzes past your head, and when you try to smash it with the first object you find, it disappears almost immediately. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, since they always get ahead and dodge blows. Why are they so fast and how do they always manage to escape? The answer lies in their hind wings, as these allow them to take off quickly (even at the last moment before dying) and in that they see the world in slow motion.
The wings of the flies
The house or common fly ( Musca domestica ) is a dipteran insect. This means that their wings have been reduced to halteres (hammer-shaped clavate structures attached to the body by the handle), so they only have two membranous wings instead of four like most insects. During flight, they rise and fall like wings, but in the opposite direction. In addition, the halteres function as gyroscopes, allowing the flies to control the direction of flight.
Also, the vibration of the halteres allows them to stabilize the body while flying and transmit information to the wings.
Your ability to maneuver
The halteres are not the only secret weapon of the flies, since once they are in the air they can perform maneuvers similar to those of a fighter plane pilot. In fact, fruit flies can change direction in less than a hundredth of a second. That is, about fifty times faster than an eye can blink.
In addition, the wings of the flies are perfectly synchronized, allowing them to generate enough force to propel themselves quickly and escape. Fruit flies also have exceptional vision, helping them plan their jumps and flee from a threat. About 200 milliseconds before take off, they use visual information to warn them of impending danger.
On the other hand, the brains of some small animals, such as flies, capture details of movement much more accurately and in advance than, for example, the brains of larger animals. The speed at which an animal processes images is known as the blink fusion rate. Generally, the smaller the species the higher it has that rate, so it could be said that the flies can see us in slow motion.
