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What Attracts Flies to Rotten Meat?

The lowly fly is annoying and may seem useless and fit only for swatting, but in the natural world it serves a purpose. Though most people are more familiar with the common house fly or gnats and mosquitoes, more than 100,000 species of flies have been identified throughout the world. Not all of them have adapted to human dwellings, but the ones that have are usually considered unhelpful, and sometimes dangerous pests.

About
- Regardless of its appearance, if the insect has two wings it's more than likely a fly.
  
  Diptera means "two wings" and this is the insect order that all flies belong to. Their two-wing structure is shared by few others in the insect world, so the name fits them well. In nature, flies aid in the decomposition of dead animals and other organic material, rotting vegetation and animal waste. An odorous, rotten piece of meat or fruit is fit only for trash to most humans; to a fly it looks and smells like the perfect nursery for their young.
Breeding
- Fruit flies can seem to appear out of nowhere to feed and lay eggs on rotting fruit.
  
  Different flies like different areas for laying their eggs, but one thing they all have in common is that the preferred nursery is stinky, rotting, animal or human waste. The sense of smell in some flies can lead them to rotting flesh from a mile away. When the eggs hatch, the larva -- usually maggots -- feed on whatever substance they were born in. Often this is manure, a rotting carcass or piece of meat, rotten fruit, sewage or organic matter. If a breeding area is available, household-infesting flies prefer to breed and lay their eggs indoors. Household-invading flies breed and lay eggs outside, but enter human structures seeking shelter various times of the year.
Pollination
- Sweet-smelling flowers are not a fly's main attraction.
  
  Nature uses flies to help break down and, in a sense, recycle organic and other materials. But that is not their only use. Bizarre and foul-smelling plants and flowers emit a noxious odor to attract flies, usually for pollination. Flies, attracted by the smell of rotting meat, and even sometimes deceived by the appearance of the flower, land on the surface. What happens after that depends both on the type of flower and the species of fly. Some flies lay their eggs and their larva die soon after hatching due to lack of food. Others are caught within the flower, some to emerge later while others never get out.
Control
- The lowly flyswatter is sometimes the best defense against household flies.
  
  Some household flies can carry diseases from their breeding sites and pass them on to humans. They have been the cause of diarrhea, food poisoning, dysentery and even typhoid fever. Flies will attempt to enter your home or structure to escape outside temperatures, cold and hot, and also to get to any smells of rotting flesh or garbage. Properly containing and disposing of garbage and pet feces can help keep the fly population down, as can various fly traps and strips. A fly swatter can eliminate any stray wanderers. Use insecticides as a last resort.

Insects & Science