Fly Swatting 101
Slow-motion video shows that fruit flies plan their escape well before you begin your attempt to swat them. Adam Hinterthuer reportsYou’ve probably chased a fly or two around the house this summer. And, chances are, it took a few swings before you brought down the buzzing nuisance. Now a study in the August 28th issue of the journal Current Biology has uncovered just what makes a fly so hard to swat.
MichaelDickinson from the California Institute of Technology used high-speed digital video to record the evasive maneuvers of fruit flies. In the slow-mo instant replay, the flies’ bodies react to a swatter well before their wings carry them to safety. Blessed with nearly 360 degree vision, the fly first gauges the position of the swatter, then prepares an escape within 200 milliseconds. When approached from the front, for example, a fly shifts its middle legs forward and leans back. If you sneak in from the side, the fly leans in the opposite direction. This positioning then lets the fly spring into a flight pattern that takes it out of the danger zone. So, if you want to get a fly on the first try, Dickinson says to aim at where you think it’s going, not where it is. Or you could always call in a SWAT team.
—Adam Hinterthuer
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拍苍蝇
从慢镜头可以看到果蝇在你试图拍死它们之前,对自己的逃脱路线计划得很好. Adam Hinterthuer 报导.
你或许在这个夏天已经成功地在房子周围拍死过一两只苍蝇. 而且,运气好的话,这些嗡嗡响的烦人的小东西在你拍死之前还可能扑腾两下. 现在,Current Biology杂志8月28号刊上刊登的一篇研究文章中向我们揭示了什么使这些苍蝇这么难拍.
来自加利福利亚理工学院的迈克尔.迪克森用高速数码摄像机拍下了果蝇的逃脱过程. 在慢镜头重放中我们可以看到,苍蝇在飞到安全地带之前苍蝇的身体对苍蝇拍的反应相当好. 得益于近乎360度的视角,苍蝇先判断拍子的位置,然后在200毫秒内准备好逃脱. 比如,当你从它前方拍过去时,它把中间的那对脚向前然后身体向后倾. 如果你从边上拍过去,它便向相反的方向倾倒. 这种倾倒姿势让它们迅速进入飞行状态逃脱危险区域. 所以,如果你想一次成功拍死苍蝇的话,迪克森建议去预判它向哪个方向飞,而不是它在哪. 当然,你也可以叫"霹雳小组"来. (这里作者幽默了一下,也是一语双关,SWAT既有拍苍蝇的意思,也是美国精英防暴队"霹雳小组"的简称) : D
—Adam Hinterthuer
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