# What do flies want? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2005, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026 "2005-06-27T12:01:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/21 "2005-06-27T20:56:22Z")
> [@chaoticdonkey](#): > > I took sociology. 😛 I’m a Skinnerian—I didn’t get it either. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/22 "2005-06-27T20:57:46Z")
Bzzz bzzz bzzz hmmmm… this looks like a nice place to rest. Oh! Hey! Something almost crushed me there! I better fly away and…umm…what was I just thinking about? Oh, never mind, this looks like a nice place to rest. Oh! Hey! Something almost crushed me there! I better fly away and…umm…what was I just thinking about? Oh, never mind, this looks like a nice place to rest. Oh! Hey! Something almost crushed me there! I better fly away and…umm…what was I just thinking about? Oh, never mind, this looks like a nice place to rest. Oh! Hey! Something almost crushed me there! I better fly away and…umm…what was I just thinking about? Oh, never mind, this looks like a nice place to rest. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/23 "2005-06-27T21:44:22Z")
It really depends on the species of fly, and there are lots of them. Many flies do drink sweat, mostly for the water than for the salt though. Many other species have evolved to hitch rides on mammals because that is the surest way to get first dibs on any fresh turds. So the fly may have simply been hanging around waiting for you to take a shit in a the woods. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/24 "2005-06-27T22:27:59Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > It really depends on the species of fly, and there are lots of them. > > Many flies do drink sweat, mostly for the water than for the salt though. Many other species have evolved to hitch rides on mammals because that is the surest way to get first dibs on any fresh turds. So the fly may have simply been hanging around waiting for you to take a shit in a the woods. Stupid fly. Everybody knows **twicks** is a city gal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/25 "2005-06-27T22:37:53Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Stupid fly. Everybody knows **twicks** is a city gal. 😉 I always thought **twicks** was four kids. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/26 "2005-06-28T12:21:03Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > It really depends on the species of fly, and there are lots of them. > > Many flies do drink sweat, mostly for the water than for the salt though. Many other species have evolved to hitch rides on mammals because that is the surest way to get first dibs on any fresh turds. So the fly may have simply been hanging around waiting for you to take a shit in a the woods. **Blake** – thanks for the info. Believe it or not, I really was curious about an actual answer to this question! Naturally, I don’t really know what kind of fly it was – it was, yanno, a _fly_. I’m guessing some kind of housefly – it wasn’t trying to bite me or anything, it was just pissing me off. So, yeah, I realize that without that info, we can’t know. But. As far as water was concerned – I was watering the garden that afternoon, so if it just wanted water, it could have found a nice puddle or pool in a section that I’d finished with, if it didn’t want to get wet by actually going within range of the sprinkler. Plus, I wasn’t necessarily actively sweating – this was during my “cooling off in the shade” periods, not my “exerting myself in full sun” periods. That’s why I was guessing salt from dried sweat. (Do flies – generic flies of whatever sort – need salt? Or is that a mammalian thing?) As far as poop possibilities – if it was poop it wanted, why wouldn’t it have been more interested in my feet and ankles, which had been tromping around in very fresh compost, rather than my upper legs, which, though sweat-sheened, were relatively clean? And **furt** – I promise to vote for a “groan” smiley in the next election – none of the current possibilities does justice to your, er, wit. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/27 "2005-06-28T13:39:42Z")
Those flies commonly found sitting on peoples backs in the hundereds are called bush flies. Notice how they are mainly attracted to sweaty people and to the corner of your eyes, mouth and nose. It appears they are after \*\*protein \*\*and \*\*minerals \*\*. Your ankle sweat provides minerals. [This site](http://www.viacorp.com/flybook/fulltext.html) backs up what Blake said about waiting around for you to have a crap. _“The female bush flies pester you most. They want protein. They need it to develop their ovaries, to prepare eggs for the next generation of bush flies. They get protein from your tears, saliva, the mucus in your nose – and from blood, if you have any fresh cuts. To be blunt, they are also hoping you might do a poo. Bush flies are programmed to stay around animals, because animal dung is their favourite place to lay eggs. Sometimes they drink sweat. It hasn’t got much protein in it – not nearly enough. But it’s useful if the flies are thirsty, and it has some minerals they can use.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Detonation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@Detonation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Detonation)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/28 "2005-06-28T13:45:54Z")
I started a very similar thread a while back, but if replies were flies, that one was very undisturbed. I’m still curious as to whether they can get tired after flying about? And do they need sleep? ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026/29 "2005-06-28T13:59:48Z")
And how \*do \*they land on ceilings? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-flies-want/310026.md?page=1)