"Let me show you something strange", "It's bizarre !" He reaches towards a car windscreen and removes a dead fly... holding it carefully on the palm of his hand he shows that the fly is indeed dead. The performer asks the passer-bye to cup his hands around the fly, after a moment or two the fly comes to life and flies off............. SHREEEEEK !!! Preparation.

Now, you are going to need a supply of Bluebottles for this, I suggest you make this a summer trick as there will be a ready supply of Bluebottle maggots at your local fishing tackle shop. The maggots can be encouraged to pupate at different intervals by keeping them at different temperatures. Alternatively you could try swatting one, but in my experience they don't take too kindly to this sort of treatment !!

Take a pupating maggot in small glass jar (easier to keep an eye on it), when a fly emerges, place it in the freezer compartment of your fridge for about 15 minutes, this should send it into a comatose state, ready for your performance.

You will need to check the revival time so that it coincides with your performance, the general consensus of opinion is 10 minutes.

Performance hints... You might also try cupping your hands around the helpers hands and breath into their hands, the extra warmth will encourage a speedier fly revival !! Note: If the helper doesn't want to hold the fly - have them cup their hands around yours. This great party trick so long as no one spots your bottled fly in the fridge !