Has this ever happened to you? There’s a fly in the house, buzzing around you, so you go to the cabinet to get the swatter. But as soon as you start wielding it, the little bastard disappears. You set it down, and now he’s back, taunting you.
Ok so obviously flies don’t taunt, but do they have the capacity to recognize, even instinctually, that I’m holding a deadly weapon?
I’ve noticed this with even fruit flies. I use an electric swatter (in addition to the apple cider vinegar trick) to get at them, and they seem to recognize that something is threatening them. Maybe the electric swatter emits some sort of sound that only they can hear, I don’t know. But as soon as I pull that swatter out, they all seem to disappear.