Hi Deep Look and KQED Science Fans, Ever seen tiny flies coming out of your kitchen or bathroom sink? Or notice them hanging out on the walls? They might look like moths but they’re drain flies. They come out of your drain after growing up in the gunk down in your pipes. First thing to know is that even though they may be annoying, they don’t spread bacteria – they’re not interested in landing on you. Drain flies are a problem mainly in old houses and buildings, where they sneak in through cracks in the pipes. They come in to sip water, and they stay because pipes are the perfect environment to grow the next generation. The bits of hair, saliva and food you flush down the drain make a nice meal for bacteria and fungi, which form a dark, living slime called a biofilm. This is the stuff that drain-fly larvae feed on. The biofilm even keeps them moisturized. Hopefully this week’s video and newsletter will answer any questions you have about these pests.
In this accessible, myth-busting book, geneticist Shoumita Dasgupta draws on the latest science to correct common misconceptions about how much of our social identities are actually based in genetics. Learn more at ucpress.edu.
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Our Latest Science Stories
Homes lining the shoreline trail of Bay Farm Island in Alameda, California, on Aug. 16, 2021. Climate change activists worry that homes along Shoreline Park will be flooded out from rising sea levels in the next several decades, if more is not done to reverse climate change's damaging effects.
KQED NEWS This Startup Promises to Recycle the Junk Your Curbside Service Won’t Take Ridwell, a pickup service aiming to recycle items that wouldn't be otherwise, has grown rapidly since coming to the Bay Area three years ago. Can such companies grow into viable businesses while fulfilling promises to divert junk from landfills?
SOLD OUT PODCAST How We Rebuild: What Comes After the LA Fires In the second installment of a special series from KQED’s podcast, SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America, host Erin Baldassari highlights reporting from the climate and housing desks, looking at what comes after the fires and what it will take to rebuild.
🧔🏽Drain flies sense water with their ‘beard’ or long ‘mustache,’ called maxillary palps.
💦Adult flies have hairy wings that protect them from water. Each hair has ridges that trap air, so water droplets roll right off.
😋Drain-fly larvae sweep slime particles out of the water with a hairy mouthpart called the labrum. With their mandibles, the larvae rake the particles in. 🤿Through a bubble on their backsides that they’ve collected at the surface, larvae breathe underwater.
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Name That Critter!
This tiny critter lives near ponds and streams and has a secret superpower that helps it evade its predators. It has a tail-like appendage, called the furcula, which allows it to jump off the water’s surface 150 times faster than the blink of an eye. What is it? Find the answer at the bottom of this newsletter.
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Things with Wings
Discover some of our favorite cool critters that take flight. From the usual birds and bees to the unusual glasswing butterflies and damselflies, enjoy this special playlist.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing! KQED’s Deep Look and Science teams
ANSWER TO NAME THAT CRITTER
Springtail! This semiaquatic animal is as tiny as a poppy seed, but its explosive jump can propel it out of harm's way, as high as the equivalent of a six-story building for humans. So, once a springtail is up in the air, how does it land and get ready to escape again? Find out in our video: Springtails Do Their Own Stunts
