So THAT's Why Flies Rub Their Creepy Little Legs Together

Bluebottle flyWhile I’m terrified of daddy longlegs (even learning that they’re completely harmless hasn’t helped), I’m a bit more tolerant of spiders and flies.There’s one exception, though. I do not like it when bluebottles sit on my windowsill, rubbing their creepy legs together like they’re plotting my downfall. Of course, that won’t be the real reason behind the movement. But to be honest, I had no idea what was – until recently.Why do flies rub their legs together?Speaking to The New York Times, Dr David Grimaldi, entomologist and curator at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, explained they’re actually strategically grooming themselves.“Flies have chemical receptors not just on their feet, but on their legs, as well,” the expert said.This means they can literally taste the surface they’re on ”with their feet, and so they have to keep them very clean”. Oh, good. A little bit like cats’ tongues, BBC Discover Wildlife added, flies clean themselves with comb-like bristles on their legs. Aside from helping them to perceive the world around them more accurately, it can also keep them aerodynamic, as grit and pollen can affect how insects and flies move through the air.And flies don’t just rely on the “taste” from their legs to help them orient themselves. They also need their antennae and the tiny hairs on their bodies and heads to stay clean in order to keep their receptors accurate, and to help “detect air currents and monitor body position” while flying. That’s why it seems like flies sometimes “wash” their head with their forelegs, too.Flies don’t only clean their forelegsWhen you think about flies rubbing their legs together, chances are you imagine that gleeful-looking “hand rub”-style motion.But AZ Animals shared that “they rub their little legs against different parts of their bodies to clear any debris from the previous item they touched”, too.That’s because debris, dust, particles, and pollen can cling to their legs when they eat or simply land on a new surface.Entomologist Richard Jones also wrote that these minute specks can “provide a foothold for potentially deadly moulds and fungi to attack” – no wonder flies are so keen to brush them off.Related...I Tried Reddit's Vinegar Hack To Banish Flies, And I'll Never Buy Traps AgainAre Daddy Longlegs Really 'The Most Venomous Spider In The World'?I Just Learned The Real History Of Monopoly, And It's Dark

Comments

Breaking news

Halloween warning after police seize drug bags called Simpsons Sweets

Metro

Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

BBC News

Comments

Breaking news

Halloween warning after police seize drug bags called Simpsons Sweets

Anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protests see tens of thousands pour onto US streets

Parallel Lives – A Way of Enjoying Our Fantasies

Brexit impact on UK economy will be negative for foreseeable future, Bailey warns

John Cusack says Trump should ‘go to hell!’ at ‘No Kings’ protest in Chicago

Disgraced George Santos ‘decompressing’ from ‘traumatic’ prison time after being released early by Trump

US will send survivors of strike on suspected drug vessel to Ecuador and Colombia, source says

Prince Andrew ‘gagged’ Virginia Giuffre to stop her tarnishing the Queen’s platinum jubilee, memoir claims

Plan to fire artillery over a California highway during JD Vance base visit irks governor

Scots NHS worker could lose home after landlord leaves wall 'dripping wet' for 11 months

Brexit impact on UK economy 'negative for foreseeable future,' Bank of England chief says

Inside shattered House of York as Prince Andrew bombshell rocks palace

Prince Andrew could enter 'self-imposed exile' abroad after losing his titles

Prince Andrew lost titles after King Charles had crisis talks with Prince William

Paul Gascoigne: 'I came back from the dead with an injection to my heart'

Hazrat Shahjalal Airport fire chaos as travellers stranded and flights suspended

Sarah Ferguson's spiral from Duchess of York to shamed palace outsider

Paul Gascoigne on why he was held by US cops in 'drugs swoop - but it was beef jerky'

Northern Lights in UK tonight 'likely' as rare red aurora alert issued

Woman 'tested poison on dogs to get dose right before lacing victim's stew'

Seven children found in dire conditions at home 'saturated with faeces and urine'

Ashton Kutcher admits 'his looks' hurt his acting career: 'It's frustrating'

Prince Andrew's campaign to smear Virginia Giuffre revealed: Emails show disgraced royal gave sex abuse victim's confidential social security number to Met officer in bid to dig up dirt on her - as calls grow for police probe into his 'despicable' actions

Murder victim's friend reveals how Jack the Ripper copycat lured her to her death - and her body has never been found

Jewish lawyer is questioned by police over wearing a Star of David necklace that 'antagonised' pro-Palestinian protesters during demo

Strictly's Karen Carney kicks off the show with Carlos Gu but takes a fall during live performance

Katherine Ryan gives birth! Comedian welcomes her fourth child as husband Bobby Kootstra reveals baby daughter's name and gushes over wife's 'greatness'

Thousands say no to digital ID cards as they march through London as politicians queue up to criticise plan

Vicky Pattison's skin specialist shares how she manages the Strictly Come Dancing star's rosacea

Strictly's Chris Robshaw opens up about 'feelings of not being good enough' as he reveals he struggled mentally after retiring from rugby

Only Fools And Horses star Sir David Jason rakes in staggering seven-figure sum in a year - and it's not just from his impressive TV career

Braless Monica Barbaro puts on an animated display as she films outdoor scene with Callum Turner on the set of new movie One Night Only

Disappointment in Kyiv as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

No Kings protests begin as huge anti-Trump rallies sweep across US

Piastri & Norris collide as Verstappen wins sprint

Here’s What Trump Could Unleash by Invoking the Insurrection Act

David Attenborough Becomes Oldest Daytime Emmy Winner at 99

Alison Rose, The New Yorker’s Femme Fatale, Dies at 81

U.S. to Repatriate Survivors of Its Strike on Suspected Drug Vessel

How The New York Times Covers Crowds: From Protests to Campaign Events

Chilling moment woman ‘opens suitcase in Paris bar containing body of schoolgirl, 12, she raped and murdered’

New clue in search for boys aged 16 and 17 who went missing over three weeks ago

Border Force crews in English Channel to ditch patrols in strike over pay

US Embassy issues warning to Americans in Trinidad and Tobago as tensions with Venezuela escalate

New grisly details emerge about NYC teen who allegedly beheaded mom’s boyfriend, according to reports

Brexit impact on UK economy ‘negative for foreseeable future,’ Bailey says

Tutankhamun’s tomb at risk of collapse in most fragile state since its discovery 100 years ago

Yemen's Houthi rebels raid a UN facility but all staff are reported safe

Netanyahu pours cold water on claims that Gaza’s Rafah crossing will reopen

Developing Rosebank oil field ‘pure climate vandalism’, Scottish Green insists

Green MSPs banned from backing budget until action seen on bus public ownership

Woman fell for cruel love scam from Somali doctor who made her do blood oath

Boy goes missing from Dundee industrial estate as cops launch probe

Socialite Lady Annabel Goldsmith remembered as 'irreplaceable' after death

Voting begins over future of Oxford Union president-elect after Charlie Kirk comment

Prince Andrew insisted on 'gag order' to stop allegations spoiling Queen's Platinum Jubilee, memoir claims

Strictly's Amber Davies' stroppy demands over £1million Love Island relationship

Ruth Langsford 'mortified' after sharing intimate picture she insisted 'wasn't Eamonn'

Spice Girl's desperate plea to Keir Starmer after he made promise to her

Inside Prince Harry's real feelings on palace hypocrisy over Andrew accusations