Do Flies Get Angry?

A biologist at Caltech set out to find out whether flies get angry. His research is part of his ongoing work on animal behavior and genetics. He has two research projects funded by the National Science Foundation and is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Anderson studied the common fruit fly Drosophila to better understand the mechanisms underlying emotional behavior.

Despite the fact that flies cannot speak human, the study shows that the tiny creatures may exhibit emotions. This discovery is particularly interesting as it suggests that flies are emotionally similar to humans. For example, when a fly is frightened, it will often flee the area that triggers it to react. This behaviour is similar to how we react to a shadow above.

Interestingly, flies can have several different types of “stimuli” for anger. It could be an annoyed person chasing them with a swatter or it could be a creepy shadow that may signal danger. The researchers who studied this behavior found that flies that saw overhead shadows responded by looking startled and accelerating their speed.

Another common behavior of flies is grooming their bodies. Flies often rub their hands on surfaces and their bodies in an effort to remove dust and dirt. This behaviour allows them to decompose dead objects and feed other creatures.

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