Flies do not have memory the same way we do, it is incredibly short term. They actually perceive time much slower than we do and can dodge our swipes with ease, but won't remember why they did it. Their brains simply can't record that sort of data.
Flies are purely built for survival, but not on an individual scale. They play a numbers game, laying thousands of eggs in their short lifespans so the death of a few individuals is offset by the birth of thousands.
As nature's decomposers, all they need to be capable of is finding the smelly stuff and devouring it quickly. They even lay their eggs in the junk, because why the fuck not? We got eight weeks to do our jobs and crap out, let's have a family in this dead rat.
Such short-lived chunks of pure protein make up a huge portion of essential food stuffs for many of the planet's creatures. They are a vital component of our global ecosystem.
In short, a fly is like a tiny organic robot devoted purely to its 1-2 step survival protocols to eat literal caca and rotting carcasses and nothing more.
They're so gross and ugly and I love them so much.
My burning hatred for flies became increasingly more validated with each subsequent word I read in this comment, and then you ended with "I love them so much"
Yes, constantly. Flies can't chew, so they need to liquefy their food. Because it's liquid, it gets absorbed quickly and waste is left behind every single time and place they land as little specks. Bacteria and microorganisms eat it.
Fuck mosquitoes. They're so bad right now after a ton of rain we had the past few weeks. Bug spray doesn't help. My mosquito dunks, which were doing pretty well, are now being outmatched from the population explosion. I had a swarm on me after 3 mins in my backyard and received 5 new bites before I made it back inside. I wish I was exaggerating.
The only solution is burning the whole world down and starting over.
I mean, they're not clever. Just have an ultra-wide field of vision, tiny hairs that sense the slightest wind disturbance, and extremely quick processing time. Humans have the benefit of forethought and can easily outsmart them. If you just reflexively swat, they will dodge that. If you actually try to hit em, it doesn't take too long .
They actually perceive time much slower than we do and can dodge our swipes with ease
Which is why the trick to slap a fly or a mosquito is to bring in the hand closely really slowly, while the insect just sits there getting bored. Then smash it when the hand is a couple centimeters away.
Flies actually can remember stuff for a long time, but only for stuff they think is important (like food is here in this place). Some slow motion giant trying in vain to swat them doesn't register as worthy of long term memory storage.
Thank you for loving them! I respect all animals and insects and try to avoid harming them whenever practical (you can't completely avoid it when driving a car, for example). A few years ago, I received an insect catch-and-release tool as a gift, and whenever a mosquito, fly, or butterfly enters my house, I take it back outside safely. It's the least I can do for the creatures that keep our planet running smoothly. If all insects disappeared tomorrow, global ecosystems would rapidly collapse into catastrophic failure, whereas if humans disappeared...
In a world without flies and beetles, organic waste would pile up, stunting soil fertility and plant regrowth. Without mosquitoes, there would be a severe food shortage for aquatic life, bats, and birds. Even if they can be annoying, we should appreciate them for their service and their incredible history: buzzing across Earth for over 200 million years, flies and mosquitoes fed on dinosaurs and survived planetary mass extinctions long before humanity’s brief 300,000-year history even began.
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u/duckinasombrero 17h ago
Flies do not have memory the same way we do, it is incredibly short term. They actually perceive time much slower than we do and can dodge our swipes with ease, but won't remember why they did it. Their brains simply can't record that sort of data.
Flies are purely built for survival, but not on an individual scale. They play a numbers game, laying thousands of eggs in their short lifespans so the death of a few individuals is offset by the birth of thousands.
As nature's decomposers, all they need to be capable of is finding the smelly stuff and devouring it quickly. They even lay their eggs in the junk, because why the fuck not? We got eight weeks to do our jobs and crap out, let's have a family in this dead rat.
Such short-lived chunks of pure protein make up a huge portion of essential food stuffs for many of the planet's creatures. They are a vital component of our global ecosystem.
In short, a fly is like a tiny organic robot devoted purely to its 1-2 step survival protocols to eat literal caca and rotting carcasses and nothing more.
They're so gross and ugly and I love them so much.