The bodies of decapitated fruit flies are known to retain a variety of functional sensory inputs, processing, and behavioral responses. Here I report a previously undescribed phenomenon: headless bodies can respond to a light presentation with movement, walking, and flight. Headless anesthetized flies also respond to a light presentation with behavior, albeit to a lesser degree. The mechanism underlying the behavioral response of headless flies to light might include extracephalic photoreceptors or thermoreceptors.
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