# Why do flies circle around the lamp on the ceiling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 10, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509 "2012-05-10T15:34:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Swarog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Swarog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swarog)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509/1 "2012-05-10T15:34:36Z")
I have a hanging lamb on the ceiling. Flies, when they come in through the window, will bounce back and forth flying in circles around the center of the hanging lamp. They don’t land on it, they just fly around it forever. The light is NOT on. Why do they find it necessary to do this? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509/2 "2012-05-10T15:56:12Z")
they want to see what is on the other side. if you would clearly label the front and back of the lamp then they would stop doing that. mark your lamp, stop tormenting the flies. if they are driven by fixed responses to stimuli, then they could keep repetitively doing the same seemingly nonproductive actions. if enough flies survive doing that behavior then it will continue. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_About\_Town](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Man\_About\_Town](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_About_Town)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509/3 "2012-05-10T15:58:38Z")
> [@Swarog](#): > > Why do they find it necessary to do this? Well, it’s easily explainable if the light is on. But why they should fly around an unlit lamp is a real puzzle for me. Maybe they were flying around the lamp shortly after you turned off the light, then, I assume, they might see the infrared radiation from the heated filament. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509/4 "2012-05-10T16:05:36Z")
Maybe if there was no lamp there they’d still fly around in circles. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509/5 "2012-05-10T16:35:52Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Maybe if there was no lamp there they’d still fly around in circles. This. I used to have a room that would get lots of flies, and they would circle in the center. There was no lamp. I don’t know why they do it, though. It actually made them a bit easier to swat or spray. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509/6 "2012-05-10T18:14:51Z")
You must have a different breed of fly than I do. Whenever flies get into my house or garage, they immediately fly to a window and beat their heads against it trying to get out. Obviously they are attracted by the light, but then why did they come inside in the first place? They had to go to some effort to find a tiny crack to get into a darker place than they were in, and apparently there is nothing inside that attracted them, or they wouldn’t be trying to get back out. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509/7 "2012-05-10T19:06:45Z")
> [@Swarog](#): > > I have a hanging lamb on the ceiling. Flies, when they come in through the window, will bounce back and forth flying in circles around the center of the hanging lamp. They don’t land on it, they just fly around it forever. > > The light is NOT on. > Why do they find it necessary to do this? Well hanging a \*lamb \*on your ceiling is a sure way to attract flies! As far as the lamp goes, they hover around that for the same reason some of us find it necessary to stand around in loud, overpriced dance clubs. They are cruisin for ladies and your lamp is the singles bar. [Why do clouds of gnats always hover around a fixed point in mid-air?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/404/why-do-clouds-of-gnats-always-hover-around-a-fixed-point-in-mid-air) ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-flies-circle-around-the-lamp-on-the-ceiling/621509/8 "2012-05-10T22:23:03Z")
Even if the light isn’t on, is the lamp a lighter color or shinier than the rest of the environment? If so, maybe they still think it’s the sun or moon. –Cliffy