How do adult flies obtain their blood meals?

Adult flies obtain their blood meals by sucking. This method is primarily used by certain species of flies, particularly the blood-feeding ones like mosquitoes and some types of biting flies. The specialized mouthparts of these flies are adapted for piercing skin and accessing blood vessels.

When they feed, they utilize a combination of sucking and other actions, such as creating a vacuum with their mouthparts, to draw blood directly from the host. This feeding behavior allows them to extract the necessary nutrients from the blood, which is essential for reproduction and development.

Other methods of feeding, like chewing or lapping, don't accurately describe how these specific flies engage with their hosts. Chewing would imply a more mechanical form of feeding that flies do not perform when acquiring blood. Lapping typically refers to the way some insects take in liquid food, like nectar, by using their tongues but does not apply to blood-feeding. Filtering is not a method relevant to blood-feeding organisms, as it relates to how some organisms obtain nutrients from their environment, such as certain aquatic organisms.