Shoo Fly - You Bother Me!

How many kinds of flies are there? Well that depends on who you ask. Most people would say, “one kind…the annoying kind!” But if you asked a scientist, they’d tell you there are over  40,000 known species of flies.

The word “fly” is a very broad definition. In scientific terms, all 2-winged insects are called Diptera and this classification includes   the Horse Fly, the common House Fly, the  Fruit Fly, the Bee Fly, the Black Fly,  the Moth Fly and on and on!  Even the mosquito is considered a fly. For our purposes we are going to concentrate on the   Musca domestica L – the common housefly.

This little pest is always found in association with humans or human activities. Not only are they a nuisance but they also can transport disease-causing organisms to your food, your body and to the surfaces  in your home. More than 100 germs can be transmitted by the common housefly, including typhoid, dysentery,  cholera, tuberculosis, anthrax and even parasitic  worms.

The Common House Fly can complete its life cycle in 7-10 days. It goes from egg to larva or maggot, then pupa to adult stages in about a week. As many as 10 to 12 generations can be produced in one summer at 500 eggs a week! Adults usually live 15-25 days. If a pair reproduces at full capacity starting in April, in a single summer the two could produce through their offspring up to – are you ready for this? - 191,010,000,000,000,000,000, flies by August. That’s over 191 trillion flies! Wow! That would put a damper on anyone’s picnic.

Adults use their mouthparts like a straw and can only drink food that is in liquid form. The fly regurgitates or vomits on the food to chemically break down the substance before sipping up their meal. That’s just what they’re doing when they land on your sandwich, your arm or the rim of your juice glass!

The common housefly is more than annoying though. It is a pest that can transport and transmit diseases in people and animals. Scientists are exploring  ways to safely manage fly populations around the world. The use of pesticides, electrocution and fly traps have proven effective and scientists are trying to discover a fly parasite, an insect or other organism that feeds on flies, as an option that may be better for the environment.

Flies reproduce in manure piles, trash cans, leaf litter, compost piles and other warm, humid areas that provide protection and food for the growing maggots. How can you work to keep your environment safer and keep the fly population down?  Thanks: http://www.sciencewithme.com