Posted by Kahis on 13-11-2007 15:35
#2
The cleaning behaviour is unsurprisingly about personal hygiene :) It's important even for flies. Even 'filth flies' hate being filty. Dirt hampers moverent, dull contact and air-flow senses and in worst case directly kills the fly. Many flies have chemical 'taste' sensors on their feet. Keeping these fresh and clean is important and flies can spend hours each days washing their hands :)