What do flies eat? Nutrition and curiosity

What do flies eat

According to public opinion, these small flying insects are perhaps among the creatures least appreciated by man; this perhaps depends on the fact that they feed on any type of human and animal waste.

This typical feature of flies is what has given them a safe place in the evolutionary process: the abundance and persistence of survival of this species means that for humans it constitutes a real plague that until now has been impossible to eradicate.

These animals have very marked photosensitivity and carry out most of their vital actions when the sunlight is still present, while at night they enter a process of rest and decline in vital activities. Flies sprinkle their paws with a characteristic substance that allows them to adhere better to smooth surfaces.

The place where flies live is closely linked to the presence of food, in particular, that which is already in the decomposition phase or even in any type of corpse or in feces. It is for this reason that they often constitute a source of contamination and transmission of diseases for humans. Disease transmission is caused by direct contact with the fly’s body or legs; however, even their eating habit of regurgitating food and then ingesting it again can cause them to leave traces of the food they have already ingested on what they are about to ingest.

How does the fly feed?

When they begin their life cycle as larvae, flies feed on decaying organic material, or on the feces itself. These larvae are very sensitive to light and for this, they prefer to make dark spaces inside the decomposing matter: in this way, they also avoid being victims of predators such as birds or other insects.

Even the way in which their mouth is made is one of the characteristics that determine their type of diet: in fact, flies feed only on the matter in a liquid state and that is why when it starts to eat it vomits on its food in order to turn it into a substance that is easier to suck up.

The speed of the digestive system of the fly is incredibly fast and it is for this reason that the animal defecates every 4/5 minutes and does so over the food it is preparing to ingest: this is why its eating habits are considered among the worst.

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