Ever Wonder How Flies Are So Evasive? This Video Shows You

Have you ever had a frustrating afternoon of trying to swat a pesky fly? Of course you have. Right when you think you've got it because it's been sitting still in the same place rubbing its front legs together for five minutes, it somehow evades you right as the swatter slams on your coffee table.

Perhaps this video posted by New Scientist and taken by Joris Schaap and Emile van Wijk, which shows for the first time a fly taking off in a somersault fashion, found how they manage to escape:

New Scientist reports that the flies have been seen in laboratory settings doing this acrobatic trick, but it is rarely caught in real time due to the speed. According to New Scientist, it is this movement that gives the surprised fly a moment to "regain control during tumble".

New Scientist reports that Schaap and van Wijk won an award from the Flight Artists group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands for the footage.

[H/T Popular Science]