Fly

Few creatures are as universally despised as flies. Blamed for pestilence and plagues, they were publicly excommunicated from the medieval church. Beelzebub, “the lord of the flies,” was said to be the embodiment of evil, and, for centuries, flies were considered the result of spontaneous generation—the unnatural consequence of rotting meat.

Fly explores the history of this much-maligned creature and then turns to examine its newfound redemption through science. The secrets of the fly’s ve...