How Can These Flies Live in Oily Black Tar Pits? | Deep Look
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- In the sticky oil seeps known as the La Brea Tar Pits, the tiny petroleum fly and their larvae thrive in the natural asphalt that oozes up to the surface. The larvae hunt among the fossilized bones of dire wolves, mammoths and saber-toothed cats.
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Thousands of years ago, ice age creatures like dire wolves, mammoths and saber-toothed cats met their end in the sticky oil seeps now known as the La Brea Tar Pits (@LaBreaTarPitsAndMuseum) . These tar pits, a window into the distant past, are located in the heart of Los Angeles, not far from West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.
But among these fossils, the tiny petroleum fly and their larvae not only survive but thrive in the natural asphalt that still oozes to the surface today.
While scientists aren’t entirely sure how, adult petroleum flies can walk and mate on the tar pits without getting their feet stuck. But if any other part of their body touches the asphalt, they’re doomed.
Their larvae, on the other hand, truly love this environment. They can fully submerge in the dark, viscous asphalt and feast on small insects that get trapped in it. As they eat, petroleum fly larvae end up ingesting a lot of asphalt, which you can see through their guts. Humans, however, could get cancer if we ingested that much asphalt.
The larvae need the asphalt to survive. While other insects rely on a waxy layer to protect them from the elements, the petroleum fly larvae’s exterior is so thin that it would dry out without the asphalt.
Living among the fossils, the petroleum fly, with unique adaptations and resilience, continues to be a mystery to scientists.
--- Are scientists still excavating the La Brea Tar Pits?
Yes. Scientists are working on two active excavation sites where they are still finding fossils of different plants and animals that have lived in the LA Basin between 50,000 years ago and today.
--- Are there dinosaurs in the La Brea Tar Pits?
A common misconception about the La Brea Tar pits is that they contain dinosaur bones. Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years before the tar pits began to form. The tar pits are an ice age fossil site that formed between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago.
--- Have they ever found human remains in the La Brea Tar Pits?
Yes. The partial skeleton of a human woman was discovered in 1914.
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#petroleumfly #oilfly #TarPits
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Look.. finding an affordable place in LA means making a few concessions, y'know?
I used to live a few blocks from @LaBreaTarPitsAndMuseum , and let me tell you, on a hot summer morning you could smell the tar in the air! Not a bad fragrance, actually. (Craig)
@@KQEDDeepLook Well, you were better off than the poor saps in this video!
Hilarious conversation here lol
Cleaner too.
Looks like my comment about butt breathing tubes didn't Garner laugh when they were testing this
I grew up going to the La Brea tar pits. Went to the museum, saw the fossils, did the little demonstration where you try to lift a weight out of various tar containers with a handle. I was always told nothing could survive in it. Now, like 15 years later, you're telling me there are bugs that have WHOLE LIFECYCLES in the pits?? Science is amazing. Life really does find a way.
@SoHighITouchTheSky22if by god you mean evolution than yes ☝️
@@Brick001 evolution is a process. It has no will, no goals, no desires, and no plan. It designs nothing, it just describes how the world reacts with itself in accordance with the universal laws. Evolution is not a God kiIIer, it is evidence to the contrary. “The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you” - Werner Heisenberg
@SoHighITouchTheSky22Nah.
@brick
Evolution did not create life. Evolution has no will to create anything.
@SoHighITouchTheSky22come on really? Why do that
This has to be one of my favorite episodes. The stunning visual contrast between the translucent larvae and the jet black asphalt combined with the peculiar biology is just awesome. Hats off to the film crew here, and to whoever decided to dedicate an episode to these incredible creatures.
and the mercurial soundtrack as usual! the editing is so insanely top notch for these 5-min videos.
So basically if the tar is almost a road then the maggots are really just eating roadkill like normal ones
Yes. You can break it down further and take out the road altogether, theyre just eating dead stuff like normal maggots. Since we're pointing out really obvious things.
For thousands of years
They've been eating roadkill before roadkill was a thing.
This answers the question I've had since childhood about why we get fossil bones from the pits instead of anaerobic mummies.
It's kind of easy to see how such adaptations could arise. Any time an animal dies in the pit, maggots would inevitably consume the carcass. The carcass would sink, and most of the millions of maggots would die under the tar. Eventually, a few would manage to survive, and whatever mutated genes made that possible would be passed on. It's a strong selective pressure to survive certain conditions, and with the sheer number of "chances" each brood has to gamble on having even one surviving to escape a sinking carcass, odds are in favor of a new trait arsing in the population.
Come one buddy. Don't believe everything you're told. Evolution theory is candy for the secular mind. It doesn't work in real life.
The forbidden Coke Gummy Worm!
Aha! I knew it looked a bit delicious for some reason.
Act mature and stop picking the low hanging fruit because that was as predictable as heck
I’m just stating not angry or anything
@@MitchTaylor-x8c you must be so cool at parties
@@MitchTaylor-x8c god you're miserable
@user-vx6gs1ci1h did you roll out of the wrong side of the bed??? lighten up!
That fly can get out of a sticky situation.
Slow clap
holy corny batman!
Heey! Is Deep Look looking to hire!?
I will swim through it for 3mil for science
Slow
"They can even be eaten by its own larvae"
Sounds like a recurring trope.
Insects, what can we say.
@@KQEDDeepLook human children do that more slowly and adorably 😅
😂😂@@TragoudistrosMPH
I've always found the Petroleum Fly fascinating- so glad to see a video on this weirdo.
Glad you enjoyed it!
well, get into entomology and be the scientist to tell us why those flies can walk on oil!
This just proves for every pot there is a lid somewhere. Who would’ve thought something, anything, could live inside the pits?!
I love life's ability to rurn anything into an ecosystem
Fascinating! Never would I have though there would be an animal specifically adapted to life in asphalt pits! What a delight to learn about such a well designed creature!
Woo! Something to watch before work. Thank you, Deep Look!
Enjoy!
I’m 64 and I’ve been to LA many times, last year I finally stopped at this place and I loved it. Fascinating place.
Have you been to The Museum of Jurassic Technology?
@@eyescreamcake no I haven’t, is that also in LA?
@@a.m.v.6938 Yes! Visit it. Don't read about it first. 😉
When I first saw these guys, I just assumed they somehow fed on the ancient bones in the tar! Another amazing vid as always DeepLook team!
Glad you enjoyed it!
*"This maggot is it's baby!"*
*ME:* Awwwwwweeeeeeewwwwww!
👶😍💀
absolutely perfect alien worm design right here on earth
Insect in a tar pit: " - Well, just great, this day can't get any worse" ( Wild fly larvae appears behind them)
insect: "- Why Im hearing boss music?"
So this is why there are always so many flies at the tar pits! Next time, I'll have to look for the larvae gliding across the top. Amazing how easily they get around and talk about a specialized organism!
Visiting the tar pits is always super interesting. The main pits are fenced off for obvious reasons but you can find small trickles of tar that seep up from the ground around the area and play with it if you're so inclined. The museum itself has an interactive exhibit where you can feel how much force it takes to pull out of the tar and how exhausting it would be. Also, if you've only ever heard of dire wolves from game of thrones, you might be surprised to find out that they were a bit smaller than today's wolves, but they did have a stronger jaw. The museum has an entire wall of their skulls.
This was the coolest video I have seen on this channel. Very informative of something I never knew.
Wow, thanks!
That's some sticky situation..
😡
Hide your roads, the asphalt flies are coming
hehhehe
chill, they ain't literally eating the asphalt... if they do it's accidental and they'll poop it back out xD
That's so cool! I had no idea life could survive in tar. It really is true... Life finds a way!
1:14 saying that it's not tar and that it's actually natural asphalt doesn't mean anything if you don't say what 'natural asphalt' is or anything about why it isn't actually tar. Just leaves more questions.
sounds like someone doesn't know how to Google natural asphalt
You're the only one that has a problem
Next thing you know flies can walk on lava
They surely are light enough.
Just have to find a solution for the heat.
There is a cricket drawn to freshly cooling lava! In Hawaii!
@@TragoudistrosMPHwhat is it called?
@@anonomooose Kīlauea lava cricket !
The Wikipedia page mentioned they especially like cheese 😅
Funny species
Life is amazing! It always seems to find a way into every niche of this wonderful planet we live on💕🌍🌎🌏🧬💕
There's so many fascinating critters in the world!!
Indeed!
Both the babies and the adults are cute in different ways. Love these little guys, never knew they existed.
lol, i discovered this lake during playing video game LA Noire
never knew animal could survive that, amazing video really im in awe 😅🎉
Always the coolest creatures!
Thanks!
My new favorite creature, thank you deep look ❤
This is actually so cute
Ok, this might be the best Deep Look video yet! I loved this one! They keep getting better and better ❤
lovely creatures
Every day I learn about a new animal. Thank you for the content !
i've never seen something this close!
Crazy how a creature was able to evolve for such a small niche!
I didn't know these were a thing. So cool!
This is why I subscribed to DeepLook. I had no idea these things existed.
Thanks, we love making these videos for you.
4:11 Aw, I think I'll name them Al And Peg...
😂😂😂😂
This channel is amazing 😊
You've fired up my imagination, here's a D&D '5 room dungeon' idea:
1. Shore (start) = hut w dock + odd ferryman
2. Ferry = punt style, requires teamwork + 1 skilled navigator
3. Open 'water' = unsinkable giant maggots, cling-able skeleton / corpse rafts
4. Island shore = giant flies, pupae, and scattered paleolithic treasure
5. Island cave = set foot inside, and giant dire wolf (etc) skellies animate and come ashore! contains haunted sentient cave paintings, guarding plot MacGuffin. maybe a gooey pollution spirit with a bicycle stuck in its side?
✨
Imagine having stomach that can eat asphalt
Flies can live off of anything, I swear to God.
Amazing how nature can evolve to adapt to such a particular environment and thrive. It reminds me, I think another one of your videos, there's like a lake so salty that nothing lives in it except a certain species of fly? I hope I'm not just making this up XD
Nature never sees to amaze me and animals always finds a way through evolution. ❤
Coolest video series ever. I love it! Gross, beautiful, fascinating, and secretive. Thank you for educating us!
Another great video. Thank you.
Our pleasure!
The phone call was so funny😊😂😂😂😂 when he yelled yes sergeant😂😂😂😂
Life, uh, finds a way
INTO THE TARPIT, MY BOY, INTO THE TAR!
My favorite voice on UA-cam
Incredible.
Nature is amazing.
You're my fav channel fr
The soundtracks are so good!
Spectacular evolution!😮
You learn something new every day
Simply amazing 😮
Thank you! Cheers!
Fantastic look
Love you videos of nature I used to watch this when I was young :)
Your doing amazing 👍
Awesome! Thank you!
Your welcome :)
I always enjoy the music used in these videos
"How do flies survive in oily black tar pits?" "WELCOME TO LOS ANGELES!"
Wow, much respect
This was a learning experience. Thank you for your post. 👍🇨🇦
Love your videos! ❤
I love insects, thank you for this video
Absolutely fascinating
The maggots squirming their way through the dark, shimmering asphalt is so strangely beautiful.✨🕳✨
구더기 타르구덩이에서 살다니 생명력이 경이롭네
Fascinating
Thank you for the tee shirt and letter!
-Sofya
Footage So coollll!
There are also those Antarctica bugs that are the biggest fully terrestrial animals on the continent, idk if you made video on those but those are really interesting on how those insects could even live in Antarctica
Amazing video!
Thank you for sharing very well
moisturised, unbothered, in it's own asphalt puddle lane 💅
Khudos to the team...thank you so much...lovs from Manipur, India
This is where Rompopolo are born.
Wow! Truely remarkable footage. Looking through the larva's transparent skin, at its mouthparts working, is the most alien thing I have ever seen. 2:50
Even flies know the beauty of black with amber and gold. 😎
Indeed, a very handsome fly.
As a software engineer I can relate.
Tell us more!
@@KQEDDeepLook "Out of the Tar Pit" by Ben Moseley and Peter Marks
Aha!
..."if they stay on top of things..." wink wink
Oh, The La Brea tar pit I remember watching that on dirty jobs It’s very, very, very gloopy It was like frozen molasses and maple syrup and honey. Mix together and turn jet black. That’s kind of what it’s like except with lots of lots of bones
Extremophile organism: i like to live dangerously
Never before have I seen myself represented by a creature as much as now
I actually did a podcast episode on these a while ago. Would have been nice to have this video as a reference!
Life truly finds a way
When I visited last year I was very disappointed there were no actual TAR PITS! Just that dirty pond. Do the flys even have a natural habitat any more?
You’ve inadvertently figured out why so many animals got stuck there. It just looks like a dirty pond. An animal wading in would suspect nothing.
- That is *so gross,* yet so interesting at the SAME time ! How !?! 🤔
Thanks for the new nightmare idea
" silent but deadly " Last Action Hero movie quote.
Can you imagine knowing that if any part of your body, other than your feet, touches the ground little babies might eat you.
another type of fly to add to my swatting list
A game developer stares at the Tar pit.
“So I got this idea for my game… Hear me out!” - Kojima to Sony
Im learning something new everyday
Hey guys, this is Callysta. I'm back because i was being inactive everyday. So yeah, in the credits, there is acoela. You can watch the episode if you missed it
I hope you like it. Thanks!
Ok. Im finally motivated to take nephews to the tar pits! 😅😆
Hi i love animals😊