Domestic/House Flies
Common Name
Scientific Name
Domestic/House Fly
Identification:
Adult Domestic flies are about 1/6 to 1/4 inch long with reddish-brown eyes. Females are usually larger than males and have wider spacing between the eyes. They have two membranous wings; sponging or non-biting mouthparts; a dull gray body; and four narrow, black-lengthwise stripes on the thorax.
Biology:
Each female, during her three to four weeks of life, lays five to six batches of 75 to 100 small, white, oval eggs, largely in scattered garbage, that hatch in 12 to 24 hours into creamy white larvae. Larvae grow and pupate in four to seven days, and the last larval skin, which is hard and dark brown, is called a puparium. This stage lasts seven days, and can be the over wintering stage. The method of over wintering is not well understood, but in some areas populations develop indoors throughout the winter. The life cycle from egg to adult may be from 8 to 12 days in warm weather.
Habits:
Domestic flies, often called "Filth Flies," because the feed on just about anything, are not only a nuisance but are dangerous to a human and animal health standpoint. House flies are able to spread diseases such as conjunctivitis, poliomyelitis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, anthrax, leprosy, cholera, diarrhea and dysentery. They may serve as intermediate hosts for parasitic tapeworms on poultry or parasitic roundworms on horses.
Although they are attracted to a wide variety of food materials, house flies have mouthparts which enable them to ingest only liquid materials. Solid materials are liquefied by means of regurgitated saliva. This liquefied food is then drawn up by the mouthparts and passed onto the digestive tract. During daylight hours house flies will rest on floors, walls and ceilings indoors. Outdoors they will rest on plants, on the ground, on fence wires, garbage cans and other similar surfaces. At night they will rest principally on ceilings, electric wires and dangling light cords indoors. In all situations they prefer corners and edges or thin objects such as wires and strings. Night resting places are usually near daytime sources of food and are usually 5 to 15 feet off the ground.
