(SHUTTERSTOCK/GIANSU)
NEWSLINE PAPER,- Flies have many adaptations that enable them to increase speed and have maneuver and perception abilities, which makes flies excellent in detecting and avoiding punches even the fastest.
In addition, research has shown that the modification of the back wing of the fly plays an important role in making the fly able to take off quickly.
Home flies (domestic flies) belong to the Diptera or real flies order. Diptera flies have a rear wing modification that has evolved into a small structure like a stick with a knot at its end, called a halter.
The vibration of the halter helps this insect stabilize its body as it flies, by feeling the rotation of its body and sending information to its wings.
Flies in the Diptera Calyptratae subgroup, which includes house flies, also shake their straps as they walk, but scientists don't know why.
In a study published online in January 2021 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, researchers investigated Calyptratae flies to see if weight oscillation affected their transition to air, directing additional sensory inputs to help coordinate movements in the wings and leg muscles.
Using high-speed cameras to capture flies kept in the lab on takeoff, scientists captured footage at speeds of up to 3,000 frames per second.
From the analysis carried out, scientists, the Calyptratae flies flew five times faster than other flies, with the takeoff taking an average of about 0.007 seconds with only one wing cliff.
Alexandra Yarger, a researcher at Imperial College London, says the findings suggest that for the Calyptratae flies, the input of the halter is required to take off quickly and steadily.
Still, the halter isn't the only secret weapon that flies have. Once a fly flies, it can perform incredible manoeuvres.
For example, a fruit fly can change direction in less than 1/100 of a second, about 50 times faster than the speed of the eye blinking.
In experiments, timely wing spikes produced enough force to push flies away from predators quickly.
Florian Muijres, who studied aviation biomechanics at the University of Washington in Seattle, added that the flies also rolled up to 90 degrees, some of which were almost reversed, to maximize their power and escape.
Later, flies also had extraordinary vision, which helped them plan a jump to avoid the threat.
Approximately 200 milliseconds before takeoff, fruit flies use visual inputs that warn of imminent danger so the flies can adjust their postures and determine the direction that will take them to a safe place.
(Newsline Paper Teams)