Biology of the Housefly
Common Name: Housefly
Scientific Name: Musca domestica L.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Muscidae
Genus: Musca
Species: M. domestica
Scientific Name: Musca domestica L.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Muscidae
Genus: Musca
Species: M. domestica
Description: Mature houseflies have a gray thorax with four darker longitudinal stripes, a gray or yellow abdomen with a darker median line, and a pale yellowish spot at the anterior lateral margins. They also have short antennae and reddish eyes. Like all Diptera, houseflies have one pair of translucent wings, which fold back straight while the fly is at rest. Houseflies can be from 4-8 mm in length, while the average housefly is 6.35 mm long. Males have eight segments in their abdomen, while slightly larger females have nine. Females can be distinguished from males by the large space between their eyes. Males have eyes that almost touch, as well as a yellowish underside. Houseflies have sponge-like mouthparts comprised of the labella, two fleshy, grooved lobes attached to the lower lip or labium. The lower surface of the labella contain numerous transverse grooves that serve as liquid food channels.
Life cycle: Houseflies undergo complete metamorphosis which consists of an egg, larva, pupal, and adult stage. A female housefly is capable of laying up to 150 eggs per batch. Over a period of 3-4 days, a female will produce five or six batches of eggs, which resemble tiny individual grains of rice. Females prefer to lay their eggs on damp, dark surfaces such as manure, compost, or other forms of decomposing organic material such as garbage or a carcass. In order to hatch the eggs must remain moist. Eggs hatch into white, legless larvae, also called maggots, within a day. In warm weather hatching time is 8-12 hours and in cooler weather hatching may take up to 24 hours. After hatching, larvae will use their two mouth hooks to burrow down into their hatching site to feed. They will feed off of their hatching site for 3-5 days while molting into different larval stages. After five days when they have completed their final stage of molting, the larvae will find a dry, dark place to pupate. Pupae have hard shells that protect the developing flies inside. They start off yellowish in color and darken over time to red, brown, and black. In warmer weather, the larvae within the pupae will develop three pairs of legs and a set of wings, over a period of 3-6 days (17-27 days in colder weather). After about four days of developing, the fully formed adult housefly will emerge by breaking through the pupal case. Within a day of becoming an adult, female houseflies are capable of reproduction. Adult flies typically live 15-25 days, with the ability to live up to two months in an ideal habitat. In North America houseflies are most common from July-September.
Habitat & Diet: Originally from central Asia, the common housefly now can be found on all inhabited continents. They can survive in tropical to temperate climates and in a variety of environments from rural to urban. They are most abundant in the warm seasons of temperate regions, but some can live through the winter season as well. Since garbage and feces are the preferred sources for reproduction, houseflies are most associated in urban areas. Houseflies can only consume food in liquid form and they can only survive about 2-3 days without food. In order to intake food, their mouthparts are suspended from the rostrum, a membranous projection of the lower part of the head. Their main sources of food are milk, sugar, blood, feces, and decaying organic matter (fruits, vegetables, carrion). Larvae also eat paper and textile materials (wool and cotton).
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