We all have come across these filthy insects rubbing their hands together as if they are warning us or planning something against us. The real reason behind these actions of the flies is, that they are cleaning themselves.
Yes, these dirty insects like to clean themselves. These flies rely on their compound eyes as we humans rely on our eyes, but also antennae and the bristles on their bodies and legs to sense the world around them which is unlike us. So they have to clean all these sense organs so that they can fly with precision to find food and to avoid getting killed.
Most of the part of the lives of flies is spent cleaning themselves. If you observe them carefully you will notice that they not only rub their hands and but also legs which run all over their body.
These flies like to clean their smell receptors which make them smell, fly and feel the world.
You will be amazed to know the reason house flies rub their front legs together. In fact, though it seems that the houseflies only rub their front legs that is not the only thing they do. They rub or take their legs over the whole body.
Houseflies rub their legs and use the legs over their whole body to clean themselves. Is not it amazing that houseflies, which evoke so much of abomination take so much of effort to keep themselves clean?
The Reason Behind the Function:
The truth, however is that- just like any other creature, houseflies protect themselves from anything potentially harmful. The houseflies have natural protection – in the form of compound eyes, antennae and the bristles on their bodies and legs that help them sense the world around them.
These organs send vital information to the housefly which helps in protecting them. So, there is no wonder that the houseflies take immense care of such organs. So the housefly not only rubs its legs together but also runs its legs over its whole body, trying to locate dust or anything foreign that might prevent its organs to operate from working properly.
Conclusion:
For this reason, it rubs its legs so that even the smallest dust particle gets cleaned. It has a definite process of cleaning. It runs its legs over its entire body trying to locate dust and dirt. When it locates something that needs to be cleaned, its legs are first used to pick up the dirt. The legs then come down in their original position and are rubbed together to clean the dirt away.
House flies like to clean themselves. Their smell receptors help them to smell and they need to clean them on a regular basis. That is the reason house flies rub their front legs together. This is their unique grooming technique.
The flies are known to be the dirty insect. But they are possibly the best groomers engaging a large part of their days and night in cleaning themselves.
They rub their legs to remove any dirt or dust that is piled up, they are not as fortunate as we humans who use soap and water to clean their bodies.
If you observe houseflies closely, their entire bodies are covered with bristles and fine hairs that catch filthy particles with ease. Therefore, houseflies not only rub their forelegs, they also rub abdomens, their wings, face, eyes, and antennae.
In this process, they clean their sensory organs as they want to see better with their eyes, smell better with their antennae, and taste better with their feet. Lots of bacteria and other micro organic germs come out of their bodies when they rub, you can notice this using a microscope. That is how they spread diseases and that is why it is not prudent to eat food on which flies hover.
When their forelegs are clean they not only taste better they also feel the flavor in a better way. Flies carry out this cleaning process, even more, when they are with other flies.
So, houseflies rub their bodies in order to have a better sense of the world around.
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