Image: courtesy of Google free pics; facts: courtesy of schoolofbugs.com

Like many people, I don't like flies! The trouble is, they like us.

And we all have violence somewhere within us. This can sometimes be necessary for survival, such as with wild animals or other dangerous situations. But, let's face it, a solitary fly was hardly a threat to my existence; while anger-fuelled violence is never justified (I could have so easily chosen the more humane route of freedom - for the fly not me! - through the window). To extend the metaphor, violence on our planet is too readily wrought through human emotion such as hate, greed and revenge - in particular, of course, war.

Despite all the horrendous press, house flies and their kin are beneficial to the ecosystem in the following ways:

1) They are efficient cleaning agents by recycling food wasted by us, making the world a much cleaner place.
2) They aid decomposition of organic material such as carcasses and other rotting matter. This then adds to composting and enriching the soil from which fresh life grows.
3) Many species would become extinct without flies: frogs, lizards, spiders, bats, dragonflies, fish and birds have flies in their regular diet. While the housefly may not be accessible to all of them, it is certainly the case that the extinction of this species would cause a major disruption in the food chain.

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