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Home » How Do Flies Eat?

How Do Flies Eat?

By Janice VanCleave

Flies have a special mouth part called a proboscis.

Much like the way the boy in the photo is using a straw, a fly uses its proboscis to drink liquids.

Since flies do not have teeth, can they eat solid foods?

Yes, and it really is gross, so get prepared:

Flies vomit their stomach contents on solid food. Digestive juices from the stomach start breaking the solid food into small pieces. Mixed with the stomach juices and other stuff in its stomach, the fly can now use its proboscis to drink the liquid.

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Filed Under: Insects Tagged With: animal, fly, insect, mouth, proboscis

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The spoon hanging from the string vibrates when struck and these vibrations are transmitted through the string and the sound is amplified by the plastic cups. ABOUT ME: Hi, I am Janice VanCleave, author of 50 best-selling science experiment books for children ages 4 through high school. I taught science for 27 years. MORE.....

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