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The Inside Out of Flies
The Inside Out of Flies is a look under the bonnet at the astonishing mechanics of fly anatomy. Erica McAlister reveals the engineering miracles embodied in numerous species of fly and some of the fascinating implications they hold for human technology. Discover the physics of the mysterious ‘scuba diving fly’, marvel at the venomous horse fly larvae which prey on frogs, and glimpse the golden ratio in these creatures’ spiral flight patterns. McAlister touches on the emerging field of biomimetics – the study of evolutionary adaptations to devise new technology – and anticipates everything from medical needles based on the mosquito’s proboscis to hearing aids inspired by Ormia ochracea, a tiny fly with ears on its thorax. At every juncture she uncovers unique and surprising science lessons encapsulated in the form and function of the humble fly.
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Published September 2, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 20, 2021
My hardback first edition contained errors, and this sequel can skew technical, but I struggle to recall a more entertaining read.
May 18, 2022
What a fun read. I loved flies before I read this but this further spreads my love for this order.
August 9, 2021
I was looking for this author's the secret life of flies, but the library didn't carry it and so i took a chance on this one. So glad i did. I was afraid it might be more engineering and chemistry as it went through the fly feature by feature and described the incredible diversity that evolution has blessed them with, but there was still plenty of fascinating biology. they are like aliens among us, seeing with different body segments, tasting with their feet, mothers ripping off wings and legs to give birth. I partly wanted to read this book, because, of all God's creatures, I admit the fly was one of the ones I had the hardest time embracing. This book helped replace my fear and ignorance with some awe and understanding. Great read
September 12, 2020
A head-to-toe anatomical tour, this enthusiastic pop-science jaunt will make you see flies in a completely new light. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2020...
April 2, 2026
Let's start with the good:
1) Erica McAlister clearly has an enthusiasm for her subject, and an ability to convey that to the reader. It's like taking a class in high school in a subject you don't necessarily always enjoy, but that teacher is so stoked to teach about it that you get interested.
2) The book has a copious supply of pictures and diagrams to help you tell your prestomal teeth from your branched arista, and so on. I know it impacts the printing cost to include a lot of visuals, but it really helps.
3) Flies, annoying as they are, are everywhere, and learning more about the (nearly innumerable) ways in which they do their thing is inherently interesting (if occasionally gruesome).
Now, the not so good. A typical paragraph, picked more or less at random:
"Some of these lovely blow flies, along with house flies and flesh flies, have pseudotracheae in addition to prestomal teeth. Sarcophaga dux, medically important flesh fly that is both a forensic detective and an instigator of myiasis, has a series of particularly formidable looking teeth."
Uh, ok, I understood some of that. The thing is, if you're going to introduce a term like "prestomal teeth" to the reader, you'd better do two things: (a) define it, but more importantly (b) use it often enough in that book for it to become easy for the reader to remember what that is. If you introduce a new word like this every page or two, sometimes several at a time, and then drop them a few pages (or paragraphs) later, it would have been better to say something like "rasping teeth".
"Some of these lovely blow flies, along with house flies and flesh flies, have suction tubes (called pseudotracheae) in addition to rasping teeth. One such flesh fly (Sarcophaga dux) that is important both for forensics and as an instigator of maggot infections in humans, has a series of particularly formidable looking teeth."
This being said, it is also a (more or less random) example of how, although uncomfortable to read about at times, they are unquestionably of interest if you aren't too turned off by the subject matter (which is rarely wholesome or clean). McAlister is a wholesome enough person, I'm sure, but clearly you need a strong stomach to study flies for a living. If you don't like reading about how exactly mosquitoes (a kind of fly) suck your blood, or fly maggots feast on dead flesh, or parasitic flies feast on living flesh, then this may not be the book for you.
The book opens with a quote from the movie Donnie Darko:
Gretchen: You're weird.
Donnie: Sorry.
Gretchen: No, that was a compliment actually.
If you're more like Gretchen (and, we must assume, Erica McAlister as well) than the normal person is, then this might be the book for you. Just don't expect to be able to read it without a jawbreaker word (that you may never have seen before) every sentence or two.
1) Erica McAlister clearly has an enthusiasm for her subject, and an ability to convey that to the reader. It's like taking a class in high school in a subject you don't necessarily always enjoy, but that teacher is so stoked to teach about it that you get interested.
2) The book has a copious supply of pictures and diagrams to help you tell your prestomal teeth from your branched arista, and so on. I know it impacts the printing cost to include a lot of visuals, but it really helps.
3) Flies, annoying as they are, are everywhere, and learning more about the (nearly innumerable) ways in which they do their thing is inherently interesting (if occasionally gruesome).
Now, the not so good. A typical paragraph, picked more or less at random:
"Some of these lovely blow flies, along with house flies and flesh flies, have pseudotracheae in addition to prestomal teeth. Sarcophaga dux, medically important flesh fly that is both a forensic detective and an instigator of myiasis, has a series of particularly formidable looking teeth."
Uh, ok, I understood some of that. The thing is, if you're going to introduce a term like "prestomal teeth" to the reader, you'd better do two things: (a) define it, but more importantly (b) use it often enough in that book for it to become easy for the reader to remember what that is. If you introduce a new word like this every page or two, sometimes several at a time, and then drop them a few pages (or paragraphs) later, it would have been better to say something like "rasping teeth".
"Some of these lovely blow flies, along with house flies and flesh flies, have suction tubes (called pseudotracheae) in addition to rasping teeth. One such flesh fly (Sarcophaga dux) that is important both for forensics and as an instigator of maggot infections in humans, has a series of particularly formidable looking teeth."
This being said, it is also a (more or less random) example of how, although uncomfortable to read about at times, they are unquestionably of interest if you aren't too turned off by the subject matter (which is rarely wholesome or clean). McAlister is a wholesome enough person, I'm sure, but clearly you need a strong stomach to study flies for a living. If you don't like reading about how exactly mosquitoes (a kind of fly) suck your blood, or fly maggots feast on dead flesh, or parasitic flies feast on living flesh, then this may not be the book for you.
The book opens with a quote from the movie Donnie Darko:
Gretchen: You're weird.
Donnie: Sorry.
Gretchen: No, that was a compliment actually.
If you're more like Gretchen (and, we must assume, Erica McAlister as well) than the normal person is, then this might be the book for you. Just don't expect to be able to read it without a jawbreaker word (that you may never have seen before) every sentence or two.
November 6, 2021
A comprehensive overview of the flies (Diptera) going in to much detail of the variation in the family. Almost a textbook in scope, but it is written in an engaging manner. If one is impressed by the diversity on specializations of the animal world, the flies provide a further level of amazing detail. The scanning electron microscope photos in the book provide great close-ups of the variety of structures that the flies possess.
While the compound eyes of flies are familiar, they also have a set of simple eyes called ocelli. The arrangement of these varies by species and is important in identification. The ocelli detect light and assist in stabilization.
Most flies have plumose antennae for sensing chemicals including pheromones. The Johnstons's organs at the base of the antennae are sound sensors. Flies sense suitable mates through both smell and using sound to distinguish them from other fly species.
Halteres are almost unique to the flies. Specialized structures that evolved from wings, they have become sensors that are important to balance and flight.
The process of metamorphosis is interesting in that many of the adult structures, such as legs, halteres, wings and gentilia, are present in the larval stage as cell clusters called imaginal disks. During pupation these cells "divide wildly" forming the new structures, then fusing together to form the adult.
Some flies take on quite improbable forms. The bee lice (Braula sp.) lack wings or halteres and reside on bees in their hive and feed on their secretions. The Australian ant mimic, Badisis Ambulans, spends its larval stage in the Albany pitcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis) feeding on trapped insects. The adult takes the form of an ant, without wings or halteres but with an ant-like constriction between abdominal segments.
While the compound eyes of flies are familiar, they also have a set of simple eyes called ocelli. The arrangement of these varies by species and is important in identification. The ocelli detect light and assist in stabilization.
Most flies have plumose antennae for sensing chemicals including pheromones. The Johnstons's organs at the base of the antennae are sound sensors. Flies sense suitable mates through both smell and using sound to distinguish them from other fly species.
Halteres are almost unique to the flies. Specialized structures that evolved from wings, they have become sensors that are important to balance and flight.
The process of metamorphosis is interesting in that many of the adult structures, such as legs, halteres, wings and gentilia, are present in the larval stage as cell clusters called imaginal disks. During pupation these cells "divide wildly" forming the new structures, then fusing together to form the adult.
Some flies take on quite improbable forms. The bee lice (Braula sp.) lack wings or halteres and reside on bees in their hive and feed on their secretions. The Australian ant mimic, Badisis Ambulans, spends its larval stage in the Albany pitcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis) feeding on trapped insects. The adult takes the form of an ant, without wings or halteres but with an ant-like constriction between abdominal segments.
February 22, 2022
I have not yet finished this book because I tend to have several books on the go at any one time and pickup whichever one suits my mood. This one is a 'meatier' read than most and has been put aside while I struggle with various problems which leave me short of concentration. However, it is an AMAZING book, beautifully and engagingly written, and with such expert information about the structure, nature, and private lives of flies that it will fascinate anyone with a love of our tiny creatures.
August 3, 2021
I picked this up because I was intrigued by the cover. The other reason is that blackflies, deer flies, horse flies and mosquitos torment me.
I was pleasantly surprised.
The author has made these horrid things seem absolutely marvelous.
What more could a reader want?
I was pleasantly surprised.
The author has made these horrid things seem absolutely marvelous.
What more could a reader want?
May 5, 2023
Utterly impressive! I loved how approachable the author has made the subject, but she also did not hesitate to dive deeper into the details. I would prefer to have more photographs in the book as I had to constantly search for pictures of insects described, but not pictured in the book.
August 21, 2024
The edition I read had some weird editing errors - phrases and whole paragraphs repeated like something had gone wrong with track changes. Could do with more illustrations (or fewer descriptions of animals not illustrated) but generally very interesting.
October 5, 2025
Just as good as the first book, “The secret life of flies”, so again one of the best popular science books I’ve ever read. Perfectly pitched for the reasonably well science-educated or science-loving reader. Flies are amazing (so are spiders :-)).
October 1, 2020
Now I want to go catch flies
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews