Summary
Almost nothing can survive in sticky, poisonous asphalt -- but petroleum flies raise their young right in it. Deep Look reveals the special body that lets these flies feed and grow where other animals would be trapped and die.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
Petroleum fly larvae have a gut and body that handle toxic oil, and they feed on other insects stuck in the tar. Being built for a place nothing else can live means little competition and plenty of food.
- Why can petroleum flies live where most animals cannot?
- How does living in the tar give them food and safety from competitors?
- What would happen to an ordinary fly in the same tar pit?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: habitat, adaptation, toxic, survive.
Try it: List one place that would be hard for you to live and why. Write what special 'gear' you would need, like the fly's special body.