Why Can’t Flies Notice the Open Window Next Door?

Flies are one of the most common and annoying pests that can invade our homes. Food, trash, and other organic matter can attract these creatures, carry disease, and contaminate our surfaces. Moreover very fast reaction times and because they have a good sense of movement, they are also very difficult to catch.

But despite their agility and speed, flies often have trouble finding their way out of a confined space. Even if there is an open window right next to the flies buzzing around a closed window and head-banging you have noticed. Why are they doing this? Are they stupid, blind, or just stubborn?

First we need to understand: How do houseflies see colors and polarization?

Three types of color receptors in your eyes (red, green and blue) found unlike people, only two color receptors in the eyes of flies (blue and green) has. This means that they cannot distinguish certain colors such as yellow and white. But they can see ultraviolet light, which humans cannot.

Ultraviolet light is often used by flowers to attract pollen and by other insects to communicate with each other. Flies seek to find food sources and avoid predators that can camouflage themselves in visible light. ultraviolet vision uses.

Another feature of fly vision that humans lack is is the ability to detect polarized light. polarized light, like sunlight reflecting off water or glass It is light that vibrates in a certain direction.

Flies, can sense the polarization angle and they can use it to find direction and orient themselves. For example, they can use polarized light to find water sources or avoid flying into spider webs.

Let’s come to our question, why do flies keep their heads on the glass?

Despite their advanced vision systems, flies have some limitations, making them vulnerable to windows. One of these limits is lack of depth perception. Because their eyes are fixed on their heads and they cannot move independently, they can’t judge distances very well.

Significant change in position of an object as it passes by, to estimate how far away something is motion parallax they trust. However, this method does not allow the object to be close or when it is stationary it is not very true.

Another limitation is their inability to adjust focus or pupil size. Unlike human eyes, which have a single deformable lens and a pupil that can expand or contract to control the amount of light entering the eye, fly eyes have fixed lenses and no pupils.

This means that they cannot adapt to different lighting conditions or inability to focus on different objects means. They can only see clearly at a certain distance and brightness level.

These limitations are; makes it difficult for houseflies to perceive windows as solid barriers. reflection of light and due to polarization they can mix them with open spaces or water sources.

Because their depth perception and focus are poor, they may not notice the window frame or the open window next to it. In conclusion, until they exhaust themselves or find another way out they may continue to crash against the glass or fly along the edge of the window.

There are some simple things you can do if you want to help the flies get out of your house without harming you or yourself.

The first option is the window to cover with a dark cloth or paperwhich will block the light and reduce the interest of the flies.

Another option is to open another window or door on the opposite side of the room to keep the flies away. a cross breeze to guide towards the exit will create. You can also try using a soft vacuum cleaner or a soft brush to gently trap and release any flies outside.

flies actually They are not as stupid as they seem. They have an extraordinary vision system that enables them to survive in a complex and dynamic environment. However, their vision also has some disadvantages that make them susceptible to being stuck in windows.

By understanding how houseflies see the world and why they act, we can appreciate and appreciate their fascinating biology. We can coexist peacefully with them.