House Fly: Facts, Identification & Control
Latin Name:
Musca domestica
Appearance:
Usually gray, less than 1/4-inch long with four black stripes on the thorax.
Habit:
They prefer corners and edges or thin objects to rest on. Indoors, they rest on floors, walls and ceilings during the day. Outdoors, they will rest on plants, the ground, fence wires, garbage cans, etc. Night resting places are usually near sources of food and 5 to 15 feet off the ground.
Diet:
Wide variety of food, including human food, animal food and carcasses, garbage and excrement.
Reproduction:
House fly eggs are laid in almost any warm, moist material that will supply suitable food for the larvae. The female begins laying eggs a few days after hatching, laying a total of five to six batches of 75 to 100 eggs. In warm weather, eggs hatch in 12 to 24 hours.
House Fly Facts
The average life span for a housefly in the wild is approximately one month. They can survive longer indoors, where temperatures are consistently moderate. Houseflies pass through the egg, larval and pupal stages in approximately 10 days, after which adult flies emerge. Houseflies cease growth after emerging from their pupae.
Houseflies are covered with small hairs that serve as taste organs. Their compound eyes are extremely complex: thousands of individual lenses allow them to see 360-degrees at a time.
Houseflies are major carriers of disease. They are known to transfer over 100 pathogens, including typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera and malaria. Houseflies collect these pathogens on their legs and mouths when feeding on feces, trash and other decaying material.
Life Cycle
Facts