A Fly’s Foot

(Credit: Stanislav Gorb)

A scanning electron microscope provided this remarkable close up view of a housefly’s foot.  The fly can clasp on to difficult perches with the wicked little claws–which explains some of the remarkable places flies are able to alight.  Additionally, surface tension provided by the innumerable tiny hairs on the two off-white pads allows the fly to hold up its weight on smooth surfaces.   Some of the tiny hairs are actually sensory organs by which the fly “tastes” whatever it has landed on.  The spiky yellow balls are grains of pollen which have stuck to the fly.