Name: How a fly flies
Uploaded: 2013-02-22T13:07:48Z
Duration: 15 min 38 s
Description: An insect's ability to fly is one of the greatest feats of evolution. Michael Dickinson looks at how a fruit fly takes flight with such delicate wings, thanks to a clever flapping motion and flight muscles that are both powerful and nimble. But the secret ingredient: the incredible fly brain.

Michael Dickinson: How a fly flies

How a fly flies

An insect's ability to fly is one of the greatest feats of evolution. Michael Dickinson looks at how a fruit fly takes flight with such delicate wings, thanks to a clever flapping motion and flight muscles that are both powerful and nimble. But the secret ingredient: the incredible fly brain.

Fruit flies accomplish astonishing feats of flight thanks to their complex yet remarkably small brains, which pack about 100,000 neurons. In the blink of a human eye, a fly can detect danger, calculate its position, and launch into the air, beating its wings 220 times per second. Instead of being simple, these brains use clever strategies to multitask and make the most of their limited hardware. The result is a creature whose behavioral range rivals much larger animals, defying assumptions about intelligence and complexity.