Focus on flies

On Resource Links Best Books of 2009 list

"It's hard to like a house fly. It buzzes around your ears, lands on your dirty dog, and then heads for your lunch. The feet of the fly that settle on your lunch are covered with hordes of bacteria carried from all its landing spots in the neighborhood. And that could be a garbage dump or a dead squirrel."

The house fly shares horrible habits with thousands of other two-winged insects that belong to the family of true flies. Gnats and midges are members of the family, and so are black flies, horse flies, African tsetse flies, and mosquitoes. This is the most despised and dangerous family in the animal kingdom. Around the world, about two million people a year die from diseases spread by flies and mosquitoes.

Despite its horrible habits, the house fly is an astonishing creature. It has survived for millions of years, outlived the fiercest dinosaurs, and has adapted to life in almost every habitat on Earth. With its huge compound eyes, the house fly sees everywhere at once. And with its ability to fly, flip over, and then walk upside down, it escapes even the craftiest predators.

Filled with fascinating facts, essential information, engaging activities, and full-colour photographs and illustrations, Focus on Flies takes readers inside the world of the house fly.

• Learn how to classify a fly and how its body parts work.
  
• Make a foolproof fly catcher and watch metamorphosis from egg to adult.
  
• Follow the flight of a fly through your neighbourhood.
  
• Find out about the Pharoah's flies in Ancient Egypt.
  
• Discover the ins and outs of Robofly, the spying robot built like a housefly.