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"Image(s)
Courtesy of Univar USA Inc" |
COMMON NAME:
House Fly
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Musca domestica Linnaeus
CLASS/ORDER/FAMILY: Insecta/Diptera/Muscidae
METAMORPHOSIS: Complete
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INTRODUCTION.
These flies receive the common name of house from being the most
common fly found in and around homes, especially in the
preautomobile era and in rural areas. It is not only a nuisance
pest but of greater concern is its potential as a carrier of
disease organisms, having been found to harbor over 100
different pathogenic organisms. It is worldwide in distribution,
and is found throughout the United States.
RECOGNITION.
Adults about 1/8-1/4" (4-7.5 mm) long, with female usually
larger than male. Color dull gray; face with 2
velvety stripes, each silver above and gold below thorax
with 4 narrow black longitudinal stripes on dorsum, no
pale spot behind head or on scutellum (rear tip of
thorax); abdomen usually with sides pale at least
near base. Mouthparts sponging. Females with eyes
much more widely separated than on male. Wing with 4th
(3rd long) vein (M) sharply bent forward near tip,
towards and almost meeting 3rd vein at wing margin.
Mature larva
about 1/4-3/8" (7-10 mm) long; eyeless, legless, and
tapering towards head from large rounded rear segment, head
represented by 1 pair of dark hooks. Color cream but with greasy
appearance. Posterior spiracles (breathing pores) slightly
raised, spiracular area smooth, spiracular openings are
sinuous/winding slits which are completely surrounded by an oval
black ridge (peritreme) which has a dark donut-shaped structure
(button or ecdysial/molting scar) attached to its inner margin.
SIMILAR GROUPS.
(1) Face fly (Musca autumnalis) have wing calyptera (flat
basal lobe) with tuft of bristles; males with eyes almost
touching (vs. well separated with parallel-sided frontal stripe
between) and abdominal dorsum and sides entirely black in ground
color with gray-and-black (vs. usually yellowish at sides)
whereas, female with parafrontals (sides of front next to eyes)
bright gray, nearly as wide as median frontal stripe (vs. often
yellowish, about 1/3 as wide as frontal stripe). (2) Flesh flies
(Sarcophagidae) have only 3 dark longitudinal stripes on thorax,
tip of abdomen usually red/pink, abdominal sides never pale. (3)
Stable (Stomoxys calcitrans) and false stable (Muscina
stabulans) flies have wing with 4th (3rd long) vein curved
towards 3rd vein but not sharply angled; in addition stable
flies have piercing mouthparts and thorax with pale spot behind
head while false stable flies have sponging mouthparts but a
pale scutellum (rear tip of thorax). (4) Cluster fly (Pollenia
rudis) with golden hairs on thorax, thorax lacks 4 dark
longitudinal stripes. (5) Little house (Fannie canicularis)
and latrine (F. scalaris) flies have wing with 4th (3rd long)
vein straight. (6) Other flies either lack 4 dark thoracic
stripes, 4th (3rd long) vein sharply angled, and/or dull thorax
and abdomen.
BIOLOGY.
The adult female lays her eggs (white, oval, 1/32" (11 mm
long) singly but usually in clusters of 20-50 for a total of
75-150 per batch and will lay 5-6 batches in her lifetime
totaling 350-900 eggs (maximum 2,387 in 21 batches). Eggs are
laid in moist materials, hatch in about 8-20 hours, and the
larvae (maggots) go through 3 instars in 37 days at 70-90
degrees F (21-32 degrees C). The full-grown/mature larva seeks a
cool, dry place to pupate, migrating up to 150 feet in 3-4 days.
The pupa starts out yellowish and changes to black, this stage
taking 3 days to 4 weeks depending on temperature and humidity.
After emerging from the pupa, about 1 hour is spent drying the
wings and hardening the body at 80 degrees F (27 degrees C),
with normal activity starting at 15 hours. Depending on
conditions, developmental time (egg to adult) may require as few
as 6 days. There may be as many as 10-12 generations per summer.
Adults usually live 15-25 days.
House flies are
general feeders, being attracted to a wide variety of substances
from excrement to human foods. Because of their sponging
mouthparts, they can feed only on liquids. However, through
regurgitation they are able to liquefy many desirable solid
foods. Also, a house fly excretes and regurgitates whenever it
comes to rest. This habit coupled with its many body hairs and
bristles and the sticky pads at the base of the claws on each
leg make house flies well adapted for transporting disease
organisms.
House flies have
been shown to harbor over 100 different kinds of disease causing
pathogens, many of which are associated with filth. Such
pathogens include those causing typhoid fever, cholera,
diarrhea, dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, ophthalmia, polio,
and salmonellosis, as well as parasitic worms. They have been
shown to be disease pathogen transmitters via their vomit,
feces, and contaminated external body parts.
HABITS.
Although house flies have been shown to migrate up to 20 miles,
most stay within 1-2 miles/1.6-3.2 km (55-96% within 1 mile,
77-100% within 2 miles) of their release point or larval habitat
if sufficient food is available. Females seek almost any warm,
moist material with sufficient food for larval development for
egg-laying purposes.
During the day,
house flies tend to rest less than 5 feet (1.5 m) from the
ground on walls, floors, and various objects. At night they rest
primarily above 5 feet (1.5 m) on ceilings, walls, electric
wires, dangling light cords, edges/corners of buildings, plants,
etc. Their night resting places are usually near their daytime
food sources.
CONTROL.
House fly control is a 5-step process which includes
identification, inspection, sanitation' mechanical control, and
insecticide application.
- Be sure that
the problem is house flies.
- Inspection
involves locating the fly breeding and larval developmental
sites. It is sometimes helpful to do this at night when the
flies are resting near their food and/or larval
developmental sites.
- Sanitation
involves the removal or elimination of the larval
developmental sites. This may involve the timely emptying
and cleaning of garbage receptacles to render breeding
materials unsuitable by drying them out. Sanitation should
eliminate the bulk of the fly problem so that mechanical and
insecticidal measures will be more effective.
- Mechanical
controls consist of garbage receptacles with tight-fitting
closures, tight- windows and doors, windows securely
screened if they can be opened, doors with self-closures,
all holes through exterior walls for utilities, etc.,
sealed, all vents securely screened, etc., and the use of
air curtains, insect light traps, sticky-surfaced traps,
etc. Insect light traps (ILTs) are particularly effective in
reducing the number of flies indoors.
- Insecticide
application involves using appropriately labeled pesticides.
Outdoors, this includes the use of boric acid in the bottom
of dumpsters, treatment of vertical walls adjacent to
dumpsters and other breeding sites with a microencapsulated
or wettable powder formulation, and the use of fly baits
near adult feeding sources. Indoors, the use of
automatic/metered dispensers and/or ULV applications on a
room-by-room basis may be required, with the low-oil
formulations being more desirable.
Courtesy of
NPMA
Control
Solutions
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