Other researchers are already using the circuit diagrams, for example to work out why flies are so difficult to swat.

The vision circuits detect which direction your rolled up newspaper is coming from, and they pass on the signal to the fly's legs.

But crucially, they send a stronger jumping signal to the legs facing away from the object of their imminent demise. So you could say they jump away without even having to think – literally faster than the speed of thought.

This finding may explain why we lumbering humans seldom squash flies.