Of the 100,000 species of flies, far more would head for a cowflop than a sugarcube, so in terms of diversity of flies attracted, the feces wins.
Flies gather fast and thick on a prime piece of poo.
Those would give off odors of fermentation, unlike refined sugar, and a lot of flies go ga-ga over fermenting sweets. Of course, the version I'm most familiar with involves vinegar, and that doesn't draw flies at all. However you look at it, he needs to adopt a new saying, as you suspected. Staff Reports are researched and written by members of the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board, Cecil's online auxiliary. Inc. All rights reserved.