why do flies keep flying into lightbulbs?

[Pepsi90919]

fvcking morons

 

[Kelnoen]

from what i remember with moths, they aren't drawn to light they're drawn to dark and cause of the way they see they think the dark bit right next to a light is the darkest bit of the room.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_038.html

 

[waggy]

what i want to know is how they get in?

mine have covers. they are sealed. how the heck they get in it?

 

[DainBramaged]

That has to be one of the most annoying things. <bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz> <bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzz> <bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz><bink> <bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz>

 

[Insane3D]

lol!

As annoying as your posts usually are, this one is awesome.

:thumbsup:

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
lol!

As annoying as your posts usually are, this one is awesome.

:thumbsup:

Agreed!

 

[sandorski]

Flies haven't developed the Internet and lack Google to tell them not too.

 

[chusteczka]

I remember reading a poem that compared a flame to the most dazzling brilliance,
and of the moth's desire to become part of that beauty if only for an instant.

 

[Jeff7]

It's something bright, and for some reason they want to be near it. Something keeps getting in their way, but they don't really have much accumulated memory, so they just keep trying until they get tired or hungry, or until the magic light goes out.

 

[uberman]

Because you don't have any candles and they are phototropic. I've been waiting years to use that word since my studies in entomology.

 

[GRIFFIN1]

According to some Discovery channel show I was watching, moths use the moon to determine what direction they are flying in. If you have ever looked at the moon while you are riding in a car, you know that the position of the moon doesn't seem to change. If the moon is 90 degrees to the right of you, then if you want to drive in a straight line, then you can just keep the moon 90 degrees to your right. If you got confused and started using a street light as your reference instead of the moon, then you would spiral into the light pole.

 

[JS80]

why do humans keep [insert stupid human thing to do here]?

 

[Rastus]

How many flies does it take to screw in a light bulb?

 

[neutralizer]

It's perfect. They gather around the light and I get a chance to zap them.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Rastus
How many flies does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Two, but don't ask me how they got inside.

 

[CollectiveUnconscious]

Originally posted by: uberman
Because you don't have any candles and they are phototropic. I've been waiting years to use that word since my studies in entomology.

How did you do in that class? They are positively phototactic, not phototropic. Phototropic is used when discussing sessile organisms.

 

[uberman]

Originally posted by: CollectiveUnconscious

Originally posted by: uberman
Because you don't have any candles and they are phototropic. I've been waiting years to use that word since my studies in entomology.

How did you do in that class? They are positively phototactic, not phototropic. Phototropic is used when discussing sessile organisms.

I think I did ok. It was a month long summer workshop at a college when I was in the sixth grade, probably 1969. We had soil and placed it on screens. We then shined lights on it and the critters which were aphototropic ran from the lights. This is interesting; we made killing jars to put the insects in to rest for display. Now you have 40 sixth graders running around with these things. We made them, a mayonnaise jar, cyanide crystals, sawdust, and a layer of plaster of paris. I couldn't imagine letting children anywhere near cyanide today.

Did those nuns at the college teach us kids incorrectly? College of Holy Names, Oakland, CA, I hold them entirely responsible. Apparently, they did not distinguish between the plant and animal kingdoms. We didn't study plants at all. Can I get my money back?

Pho`to`trop´ic
a. 1. (Bot.) of or pertaining to phototropism; exhibiting phototropism; same as Heliotropic.
He`li`o`trop´ic
a. 1. (Bot.) Manifesting heliotropism; turning toward the sun.

pho·to·tax·is (ft-tkss)
n.
The movement of an organism or a cell toward or away from a source of light.