Summary
The alkali fly walks straight down into a stinging salt lake -- wrapped head to toe in a shining bubble of air. Deep Look shows how tiny water-repelling hairs trap that bubble so the fly can breathe, feed and crawl back out completely dry.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
The alkali fly is covered in waxy, water-repelling hairs. When it dives, those hairs hold a thin layer of air around its body -- a built-in scuba tank that lets it breathe and stay dry underwater.
- What structure lets the alkali fly carry its own air underwater?
- How does staying dry help the fly survive in a salty lake?
- Why couldn't a fly without those special hairs do the same thing?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: structure, water-repellent, survive, adaptation.
Try it: Push a dry paper towel into a cup of water and pull it out. Write how trapped air keeps it dry, like the fly's bubble.