Olfactory System Detects Decomposition

close up photograph of black and brown fly with red eyes

Biological Strategy

House fly

AskNature Team

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Sense Chemicals (Odor, Taste, etc.) From the Environment

Chemicals are important for signaling and communication among living systems, either intentionally (such as when two living systems try to find one another) or unintentionally (such as when a plant emits a chemical signal that an herbivore can use to find a tasty bite). They are also important for other uses, such as navigating or finding sources for minerals. But chemical signals are often relatively weak and disperse when moving through water or gases. Therefore, detecting them requires specialized abilities, including a way to determine where they are coming from. A well known example of sensing chemicals can be seen in ants following a pheromone trail laid down by others in their colony to locate a quality and abundant food source.

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Insects

Class Insecta (“an insect”): Flies, ants, beetles, cockroaches, fleas, dragonflies

Insects are the most abundant arthropods—they make up 90% of the animals in the phylum. They’re found everywhere on earth except the deep ocean, and scientists estimate there are millions of insects not yet described. Most live on land, but many live in freshwater or saltwater marshes for part of their life cycles. Insects have three distinct body sections: a head, which has specialized mouthparts, a thorax, which has jointed legs, and an abdomen. They have well-developed nervous and sensory systems, and are the only invertebrate that can fly, thanks to their lightweight exoskeletons and small size.

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The olfactory systems of some flies help them find food due to their extreme sensitivity to the smell of rotting meat.

Image: Kamranki / Wikimedia Commons /

Long-legged fly (<a href=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Dolichopodidae class=mw-redirect title=Dolichopodidae>Dolichopodidae</a>) sitting on a leaf

Image: Kamranki / Wikimedia Commons /

1=Housefly sitting on a stretched electrical cable.

Image: Alvesgaspar / Wikimedia Commons /

Common house fly (''Musca domestica'')

Image: Alvesgaspar / Wikimedia Commons /

House flies mating (''Musca domestica'')

Image: Lokilech / Wikimedia Commons /

Bildbeschreibung: Hausfliegenbein

Image: Sarefo / Wikimedia Commons /

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Image: Pavel Krok / Wikimedia Commons /

Larve einer Stubenfliege (Musca domestica (larva))

“The sense of smell is vital to most insects for finding food. Flies are particularly sensitive to the chemical odour given off by rotting meat…” (Foy and Oxford Scientific Films 1982:129)