Revealed at last! How the fly evades the swat so well

Scientists have discovered that the insect has the ability to do quick mid-air fighter jet style banked turns making them hard to capture.

15:06 11 April 2014

Ever wonder why it is frustratingly difficult to catch a fly? Well, scientists have revealed that the insects have astonishing ability in making quick mid-air banked turns enabling them to evade predators much like a fighter jet escaping an enemy’s rocket. 

 

The scientists, who used slow motion video cameras to track the fly’s aerial maneuvers, have published the study in the journal Science documenting how aerial agility in fruit flies allow the insect to change course in less than one one-hundredth of a second. 

 

University of Washington biology professor Michael Dickinson, who led the study, said: “They generate a rather precise banked turn, just like an aircraft pilot would, to roll the body and generate a force to take them away from the threat.” 

 

“That happens very quickly. And it's generated with remarkably subtle changes in wing motion. We were pretty astonished by how little they have to do with their wing motion to generate these very precise maneuvers.” 

 

“I suspect that these are very ancient reflexes. Very shortly after insects evolved flight, other insects evolved flight to eat them. Circuits for detecting predators are very, very ancient. But this one is just being implemented in a high-performance flight machine.”