Fly Reaction Time Test

In 1950, an article was published by C. M. Herget in the Journal Science.

It was entitled:
Reaction Time of the Common Housefly (Musca domestica)
Science 14 Jul 1950: Vol. 112, 2898, 62
DOI: 10.1126/science.112.2898.62

In short, the researchers measured how long it takes a fly to react after quickly removing a platform from where it was standing with a bullet. They found that it took the fly around 21 milliseconds to extend its wings and take flight after falling with gravity a small fraction of an inch. That reaction time is more than 12x faster than that of a human.

This weekend, I did some testing with colleagues Toni Lucatorto and Kamil Paszkiewicz. Similar to that science paper, we tested how quickly a fly reacts by quickly removing 'the stage' from where a fly was standing. We did this by firing an arrow through an orange with a crossbow.

Interestingly, we found that it took nearly 50 frames (at 6000 frames-per-second) before the fly responded by beating its wings. That's about 8.3 milliseconds!

One thing we can never know... was she already planning to take off? :)

[Szaam]

Pretty cool that they found a fly willing to participate in their study

[loganharris]

They could have done anything to make the fly react and they decided to shoot an arrow at the orange it was on. Masterpiece.

[momentarynarration]

Thank you for not making this video 12 minutes explaining how you’re setting up your high speed camera, which Whole Foods you went to to get your orange, where you found a fly. This is straight to the point and we appreciate it

[rj]

Props to the fly for sitting there the whole time to make the experiment successful

[guitaro]

This is why I pay my Internet bill every month.

[pwner-ydte]

I think what's even more impressive is the reaction time of the orange.

[AJWEXIST]

I’m watching a documentary and as soon as he took flight, monks began singing in a monastery with lovely acoustics

[phish]

Plot twist: that wasn’t a bow and arrow. It was an mbt and a sabot round. The person had enough of the fly

[puzzleheadedmoney]

Damn, imagine just chilling on an orange, and it suddenly explodes.

[AB-ithd]

This video was originally intended to be “Shooting a Fly with a Bow and Arrow” video but he missed and made it a “Flies reaction time”

[jhkl]

the most astonishing is how they they trained the orange to stand still even when being shot and also keep holding the fly, that the orange itself domesticated, bravo

[ItalianStallion]

I think the reason small animals have great reaction times is because their brains are wired very close to their sensory organs and muscles. Their brains aren't thinking a whole lot so when something happens, they just react.

[AndrewFerrerd]

In slow motion they look like giant and careful beings who flap their wings with might as they move forward

[LightsCameraAnts]

So what I just learned is that you can technically hit a fly with a bow and arrow without it flying away in time. Good to know😌

[kasperchristensen]

The average reaction time for humans is 273 ms (just Googled it), or around 34 times slower than a fly. Thus, from a fly's perspective looking at a human would be like us looking at a very large creature that would take no less than 273*34 = 9282 ms = *9.3 seconds* to react 😂

[ghostyboi]

im sure someone already said it but just in case. this is why fly swatters have holes. flies can detect your hand coming down on them from their eyes yes but also the air pressure shifting a lot. fly swatters have holes to not set off that sense as quickly

[Vinsternator]

I hope the fly was generously compensated for his part in this study.

[checkmarc]

Fly reaction time: ~8ms
Typical human reaction time: ~215ms
No wonder they're so tricky to kill.

[miashooter]

Thank you for no annoying talking or loud music...just straight to the point

[johnhickman]

I’m impressed with how quickly it raised its landing gear.