Latin Name:
Family Muscidae
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 12-24 hours.
Other:
More than 100 pathogens associated with the house fly may cause disease in humans and animals, including: typhoid, cholera, bacillary dysentery and infantile diarrhea.
