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There are more than 300 000 species of flies, of which the house fly is the most common indoors.
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House flies can be found all over the world in the same habitats where people can survive.
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Researchers believe house flies developed 65 million years ago.
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Flies are interested in food, heat, and sex.
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House flies can migrate up to 20 miles, but prefer to stay within 2 miles of their breeding site.
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Since house flies like it about 82 degrees Fahrenheit, they are attracted to insect light traps. They see the ultra violet light (which humans can't see) and are attracted to it for heat.
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During the day, house flies will rest at a height of less than 5 feet. At night they rest above that height.
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House flies can scale walls and walk on the ceiling because after landing they produce a sticky substance that acts like glue.
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The fly has omnidirectional sight; each of the fly’s eyes have four thousand separate lenses – eight thousand in all – giving the fly the ability to see in many directions at once.
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Even with compound eyes, house flies have poor eyesight.
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Flies can see movement better than color.
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House flies use their sense of smell, which is located on their antennas, to locate food.
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Flies can smell food more than 750 yards away.
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The house fly’s feet are 10 million times more sensitive to the taste of sugar than is the human tongue.
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The house fly has only one pair of membranous wings. The house fly’s uses the other pair of wings, known as "halters," for balance during the flight.
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The maximum flying speed of house fly is five miles per hour.
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House flies can beat their wings up to 200 times per second.
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It is difficult to swat a fly in mid-flight because a fly can detect the slightest changes in air currents. (Fly swatters are designed with holes to minimize the air current.)
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A dirty garbage can be the breeding ground for up to 30,000 flies.
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More soldiers died during the Spanish-American War from typhoid, a disease spread by flies, than actually died as a result of wounds sustained in battle.