Importance of Flies

Serena Cuoghi
Title of Professor of Biology

The flies, so annoying and unpleasant, well, at least a small group of them and particularly when they get into our house, are, as a whole, beings alive as essential to nature as any other insect, however, we tend to underestimate their importance because of how they directly affect our lives.

For humans, flies represent problems, particularly health, since they are capable of transporting a large number of insects from one place to another. bacteria, protozoa, fungi and viruses, which mostly cause serious diseases, such as dysentery, gastroenteritis and even giardiasis.

In this sense, its incidence at the health level is one of the first lessons that a child receives, both at home and at school, when learning that he should not let them settle on his food or their body, but despite all the efforts dedicated by parents and teachers, these clever critters manage to sneak between kitchen utensils and food, hence It is required to keep all kitchen dishes in closed places and food safely protected, to minimize the possibility of leaving them within reach of the legs of the flies from him.

Flies also go from flower to flower

The pollination of plants is not an exclusive affair of bees, but an activity in which all bugs participate. From spiders to stick insects, beetles and beautiful butterflies, absolutely all arthropods can participate directly or indirectly in the process of carrying pollen from one flower to another, especially if one of their skills includes finds the ability to fly, so we can confidently say that every flying thing can be a pollinator, even the flies. Obviously, birds and bats also contribute to this work and also to help ensure that there are no more flies than are necessary for ecological balance.

The flowers recreate our sight and produce enormous pleasure by capturing the attention of our smell, however, there are very peculiar plants that in this sense gave a turning towards noses not as exquisite and refined as ours, because thanks to evolution, they ended up developing stinking perfumes that no woman would use to make itself attractive, and it is that the intention of such an extravagance of nature is to attract flies, with the direct purpose of serving as pollinators. For these plants, without a doubt, the importance of flies is such that they have trusted them to preserve their own species, despite that for this reason they have to suffer the rejection of perfumers and gardeners, but earning a very important role for the maintenance of the biodiversity.

A natural cleaning service

The role of flies at an ecological level and for all their species also falls on the development of their larvae. It is well known that fly larvae grow in environments that are not very pleasant for most other living beings, since they feed on decomposing organic matter. In this sense, animal corpses and feces are usually their favorite menu, but they also help to decompose plant remains, so flies have a fundamental role in maintaining ecological balance, helping to preserve cleanliness in nature, being precisely of this function that they end up covered with all the pathogenic agents that they are capable of transporting and transmitting to both animals and floors.

Flies, on the other hand, can be considered in some cases as potential pests of crops due to the transmission of pathogens to plants, so that in the agriculture have both positive and negative edges, depending on the species of both flies and plants that are in interaction in each crop in in particular, so their extermination should not be resorted to and even less in a radical way, since that would affect all other species and the existing balance between they.

Another important aspect for which flies exist is that they serve as food for a wide variety of other arthropods, such as For example, spiders, amphibians, many birds and even fish when they land carelessly on the water or end up used in a fish hook. As it involves a very large number of diners, spread out everywhere, it is not surprising that flies develop such a high rate of reproduction, especially when their food or supplies are abundant predators.

Bibliographic references

Manrique-Saide, P. C., & Delfín-González, H. (1997). Importance of flies as potential vectors of diarrheal diseases in humans. Rev Biomed, 8(3), 163-170. Mexico.

Hernández-Ortiz, V., & Dzul-Cauich, J. F. (2008). Flies (Insecta: Diptera). Coffee Agroecosystems. Biodiversity, Management and Conservation. Institute of Ecology, AC, National Institute of Ecology, Mexico, DF, 95-105.

Gomez, H. (2006). Fruit flies. products. Colombian Agricultural Institute, ICA. Bogota Colombia.

Galvez, G. E., & Cárdenas, M. R. (1980). Whitefly-borne viruses. CIAT.