Hi Deep Look and KQED Science Fans, All organisms go through a myriad of life stages, but the common house fly goes through an incredible metamorphosis that will surprise you. House flies start out their lives as eggs. Maggots hatch from those eggs and eat a lot until they’re ready to pupate and turn into adults. Emerging from their pupal home, however, takes a lot of effort. In order to break free, the fly inflates its head, like an airbag, so that the pressure pops the top of its pupal casing. Scientists mostly study house flies because they’re powerful vectors for diseases, but did you know that flies can also help solve crimes? Knowing what age a house fly pupa is can help investigators determine when it may have been laid as an egg on a dead body. Think of all that the next time a fly starts buzzing around your kitchen and annoys you. We’re sure you’ll be amazed at seeing the house fly’s transformation in our video and in this week’s newsletter
Mimi Schiffman, Deep Look Producer and Post Production Coordinator
To make its grand entry into the world, the house fly deploys a specialized organ, a fluid-filled balloon on its head called the ptilinum (till-EYE-num) to break open its pupal casing.
House flies use the ptilinum just once in their lives, to break free from the casing that holds them captive. Once their heads are free, they use body parts like their newly emerged legs to get out of their hard shell.
BAY CURIOUS The Explosive History Hidden in Glen Canyon Park San Francisco's Glen Park Canyon was once home to the Giant Powder Company, the first dynamite factory in the United States, until it exploded in 1869.
KQED NEWS How Health Care Could Change Under the New Trump Administration Trump's victory gives a broader platform to critics of federal health programs. Among other moves, he may try to weaken the Affordable Care Act and cut funding for Medicaid coverage.
🥚A house fly grows five times in size going from its egg stage to its maggot stage. 🟤A house fly maggot’s ivory exoskeleton hardens and turns a deep mahogany. 😮💨The pupa gets oxygen from inside its casing via two holes on its rear end. 🤯In order to escape its casing, the pupa first inflates and pulses its head sac to get out. 🦵🏽🦵🏽Once the head is out, next come the front legs, abdomen and back legs. The process of freeing itself is called eclosion. 🤕The ptilinum, the organ that helped it escape its casing, gets pulled into the fly’s head and remains a scar for the rest of its life. 🩸Once it’s out of its casing, the adult fly inflates its crumpled wings with clear blood called hemolymph until they’re fully ready for flight.
PLAY
Name That Critter
This fly and its larvae thrive in sticky tar pits where most creatures have died. The larvae hunt among the fossilized bones of dire wolves, mammoths and saber-toothed cats. What kind of fly is it? Find the answer at the bottom of this newsletter.
JOIN US ON PATREON
Get More Exclusive Content
Become a DEEP LOOK Patreon Member today and go behind the scenes with the Deep Look team! Plus, you’ll get Deep Look swag like this Deep Look mug. We also have a special Deep Look weevil pint glass, T-shirts, stickers and more. So help us with our mission to give everyone a deeper understanding of science and nature, especially the living organisms too small to easily see with the naked eye. Just like out in the wild, everyone has a role to play.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter. Thank you for your support! Until next week! - KQED’s Deep Look and Science Teams Deep Look is KQED’s award-winning wildlife video series that reveals the tiny dramas playing out in the natural world. We’re a member-supported YouTube series from KQED and PBS Digital Studios. Learn more. KQED’s award-winning science coverage brings you the latest climate, environment and health news from the Bay Area and beyond. KQED Science is supported in part by the members of KQED. Learn more.
Did you enjoy this newsletter? ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ ★︎ Submit
Petroleum fly! Thousands of years ago, ice age creatures like dire wolves, mammoths and saber-toothed cats met their end in the sticky oil seeps now known as the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. But among these fossils, tiny petroleum flies and their larvae not only survive but flourish in the natural asphalt that still oozes to the surface today. Find out more in our video: How Can These Flies Live in Oily Black Tar Pits?
