HouseFly

=**House Fly**= //(Musca domestica)// The house fly is the most common of all flies in homes and farms. It's one of the most widely distributed insects; often considered a pest that can carry serious diseases.(1) From this picture it's obvious that it's a house fly because of its six legs, oval shape, and black/gray color. Its shiny thorax gives it away. House flies are approximately 6mm (1/4 inch) long. Click [|here] and compare the two flies.

Life Cycle
Female house flies deposit their eggs on organic matter such as garbage and animal excrement. Each female deposits about 75-150 eggs; they will hatch in a day or two.(1) Maggots feed on the material in which they have hatched. After three larval molts, mature larvae stop feeding and burrow into dry areas, where they pupate. The pupa is a brown object in which the larva changes into an adult house fly. Adults mate within a couple of days after the pupa.(1) The life cycle can be completed in one week, but it usually takes three.(2) House fly adults normally live about two weeksduring the summer, but they can survive up to three months at lower temperatures.(2)

Range and Habitat
Located worldwide except Antarctica. A house fly' s flight range is from two to twenty miles. Flies normally stay within one or two miles of their point of origin, but some travel way farther.(3) House flies and maggots feed on garbage, and rotting plants and animals. Those things are worldwide therefore flies are everywhere organisms live.

The Role of House Flies in the Ames High Prairie
House flies in their larva stage or maggots have an important role. They are decomposers in the prairie; they decompose rotting plants and animals. Female house flies lay their eggs on the carcasses of animals.(4) Then the maggots hatch from their eggs and immediately feed on the rotting flesh. Which return nutrients to the prairie and the environment. (4)

(3)http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-Fact/2000/2111.html It provided different kinds of flies. Talked about the fly's diet and had some interesting facts.
(4)http://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/invertebrates/insects/trueflies/housefly.htm It talked about their range and habitat.

//By: Ariana Mora//