How many flies do we eat

But what about….? How many insects will crawl into your mouth while I sleep? But Wait! Save Money! If we accepted more bug fragments in our food, it would be cheaper. Eat Less Pesticides! Eating insects is much healthier than eating pesticide. Waste Less Food! Instead of needlessly throwing away food because it has a couple bugs on it, we could suck it up and eat it.

The Unconventional Route's mission is to make it conventional to be unconventional. Hop aboard! Independent Thinking. Health and Fitness. Eating Well. What do you think? Leave a Comment. And we're not talking an ant or two here, a stray aphid there. No, it's more like a pound or two to grams a year [source: Eplett ]. Here's another fact that might be surprising: Most of those bugs are in processed and packaged foods, not fresh-from-the-farm produce.

The Food and Drug Administration has surprisingly specific guidelines about exactly how many bug parts can be in certain foods. Your 8-ounce gram glass of orange juice, for example, can legally contain five fruit flies.

There could be 50 aphids, mites or thrips plus some caterpillar larvae in 3. Thrips , tiny winged parasites that are up to an eighth of an inch long, hang out in apple butter, and frozen asparagus, broccoli and Brussels sprouts [source: FDA ].

And that's just for starters. You might be feeling a bit queasy right now thinking about what might be lurking in your pantry. But just think of this bug allowance as some bonus nutrition!

Many insects are extremely nutritious -- just about the healthiest things you can eat! Admittedly, thrips and mites are probably not some of them, but just play along here. There are about 1, edible insect species, and they're a regular part of the diets of more than 3, ethnic groups [source: Ramos-Elorduy ]. Some bugs are an astounding 80 percent protein by weight. In that time, females lay around eggs, using rotting fruit or vegetables as their nest.

Fruit flies are commonly found in homes, restaurants and other facilities where food is processed. They are especially attracted to garbage that has just been sitting around.

Fruit flies are found in unsanitary conditions like garbage dumps and trashcans. When they are around, humans can become very sick. Find more information and facts on fruit flies for kids and parents alike at the official NPMA website. These pests get their name from being the most common fly found around homes.

Adult House flies can grow to one-quarter of an inch long and usually live between 15 and 25 days. House flies taste with their feet, which are 10 million times more sensitive to sugar than the human tongue! Flies do not have teeth or a stinger.

Their mouths absorb food like a sponge. They can only eat liquids but they can turn many solid foods into a liquid through spitting or vomiting on it. Their tongues are shaped like straws so they can suck up their food. They eat any wet or decaying matter, but they are particularly attracted to pet waste because the odor is strong and it is easy for them to find. House flies tend to stay within miles of where they were born but will travel up to 20 miles to find food.

They breed in garbage cans, compost heaps and pet areas.