Gloucester’s complaint in “King Lear” – “Like flies to wanton boys we are to the gods; / They kill us for their sport” – is not quoted in Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World’s Most Successful Insects, but I suspect that the book’s author, Jonathan Balcombe, would agree with the feeling these sadistic youngsters feel sorry for. “Super Fly” is a clear, engaging, and vivid account of the world of flies. There is also a parallel story here in The Lord Balcombe becomes a lawyer, and his passion for flying terrified me until I finally understood his benevolent motives.
Here are some suggestive facts about flies. In terms of “diversity and sheer numbers,” writes Balcombe, the fly’s success is “reaching heavenly proportions”. Some researchers estimate that there are 17 quadrillion flies on the planet. A British fly expert believes that there are around 17 million flies for every human being. There are 160,000 known species of flies and that is likely “just surface scratches”. Flies, which have been around as long as humans, can be found on every continent, including Antarctica. “A handful of species have populated the oceans – a habitat that insects would otherwise not reach”.
Flies have an acute sense of smell: “Some carrion flies can recognize a rotting carcass from a distance of at least 16 km”. Mr. Balcombe believes that flies may be painful, have personalities, and even be conscious. “They are masters of aviation who can hover, fly backwards and land upside down.” He claims that some flies, such as the Blowfly with their “shiny metallic color”, “could be among nature’s most beautiful works of art”. In summary, flies are “masters of adaptation,” says Balcombe, the “ultimate evolutionary opportunist.”
They also have their good sides for humans. Flower flies are “vital pollinators”. Mosquito larvae are an important anti-pollution brigade; in their multitude. . . They filter algae and microscopic debris from the water. “Fruit flies have been essential to analyzing genetics as they have featured in more than 100,000 scientific studies. Certain species of flies that infiltrate human corpses have helped scientists determine the time of death of a murder victim, thus contributing to convictions and exonerations for murder. Maggots can help heal wounds in humans because they only eat infected tissue. In fact, their tissue work is “far cheaper than traditional wound healing therapies”. Flies enhance the taste of Sardinian sheep cheese. Some people even like to eat the cheese maggots – but the maggots can survive the digestive process and wreak havoc in the intestines, which is undoubtedly not one of their good qualities.
Although he is a fly lover, Mr. Balcombe does not limit himself to examining the dark side of the species. “Let’s face it, we don’t win popularity contests for flies,” he admits, and his study of the damage some species do to humans, livestock and plants clearly shows why. Flies are the most common carriers of insect-borne diseases. Biting mosquitoes “are known to transmit at least 66 viruses and 15 protozoa.” Sand flies spread oreja fever, which killed about 25% of Pizarro’s army in 16th century South America. Tsetse flies transmit sleeping sickness. Tropical blackflies “can carry the roundworm that causes river blindness.” “Biting flies together make up the most harmful arthropod pests on cattle in the world.” And so on.
