How Do Flies Walk on Ceilings?
The amazing but deadly little insect we know as a house fly actually has a remarkable body. Even though that body is responsible for spreading diseases, it is so wonderfully made and can do such unusual things that it is an insect to be marveled at. Most amazing of all is probably the house fly’s three pair of legs which are att
Walking upside-down requires nature to help the fly balance its sticky feet and its weight, so that it can not only walk up-side down, but also so that the feet are not so sticky, that it will get stuck. Each fly foot has two fat footpads that gives it lots of surface area to stick to any surface. The sticky pads on the feet, called ‘pulvilli’, have tiny hairs that that are called ‘setae’.The hairs produce a sticky glue made of sugars and oils.Sticky proof Researchers have studied more than 300 types of wall-climbing insects and watched them all leave sticky footprints. “There are over one million insect species, We suppose that all of them have the secretion, but it is difficult to be 100 percent sure.” Flies need sticky feet to walk on ceilings, but not so sticky that they get stuck upside down. So each foot comes with a pair of claws that help loosen them from the wall. Flies unstick themselves from walls by pushing, twisting, and peeling its footpads free.Flies use the hairs on the
