The flies reputation for uncleanliness is also well deserved. Many of man's primary diseases are transmitted by flies, including the deadly Yellow Fever. Entomologists Dr. Yao and Dr. Yuan of China studied more than 378,046 common house flies and estimated that each carried no less than 1,941,000 bacteria on their bodies. Indeed Flies are probably responsible for more deaths among humans then any perceived atrocities we may have misguidedly thrust upon them.

Also, flies don't bite or sting. They have neither teeth nor a stinger. Flies thrust a needle like spike into their victims and injects a digestive juice that breaks down the victims cell tissue. They then suck the liquid in to ingest it. Very poor manners to say the least.

But don't think that flies are helpless and otherwise benign to their larger neighbors. In 1923, Black flies in swarms were reportedly responsible for the deaths of more than 20,000 sheep, horses and cattle in Rumania and Bulgaria. Of course I would suppose one would expect this sort of behavior from an area of the world that also brought us the Carpathinan warlord, Dracula.

A few more misc. facts to round things out. Did you know.........

Finally, one last fact. As you will see on the Historical Flypower page, many designs for fly powered aircraft have been presented to the unwary public. Most depict flies being glued to some form of fuselage by their feet. This is a sure way to disaster.

Fact: Flies will only continue to beat their wings so long as their feet are free. As soon as the feet become stationary, the will stop flying. Remember this as the fundamental rule of Fly Power