Scientists from the UK and Switzerland, with the help of powerful x-ray technology, have made a film of what the inside of a blowfly looks like while it’s in flight.

Scientists from the UK and Switzerland, with the help of powerful x-ray technology, have created a 3 dimensional film of the inner muscular workings of a blowfly while it’s in flight.

It was far from a point-and-shoot endeavor.

Said one of the researchers, "The blowfly's flight mechanism is among the most complex in all of nature. It moves incredibly fast and works on a very small scale. The fly controls its flight using muscles that in some cases are as thin as a human hair. So it presented a real challenge to view and understand."

What they learned is that similar to many other flying insects, the blowfly doesn’t have muscles that directly control the wings.

Movements travel from the thorax, to the wing hinge, and then to the wing. Altitude and direction are controlled with the help of tiny steering muscles, which account for only 3 percent of the fly’s body weight.

They believe their documentation and expanded understanding of the speedy fly will be very useful in engineering applications.

One particular puzzle it may help solve is how to create small, flying robotic devices that can be used in rescue missions.