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iStudy Flies - Everyday Housefly
Houseflies
Image source: Pictures of Flies & Other Observations
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EVERYDAY HOUSEFLY
The four life stages of the housefly are: (1) egg, (2) larva (maggot), (3) pupa,
and (4) winged adult. Development from egg to adult housefly takes about 10 days:
(1) 8 to 12 hours for the egg stage, (2) 5 days for the larval stage, and (3) 4 to
5 days for the pupa stage. An adult female housefly can produce more than 2,000 eggs
in its lifetime, but will generally produce only 500 to 600 eggs -- in clusters of
75 to 150 eggs every 3 to 4 days, in a 31 day period. [27]
Both annoying and dangerous to human populations, houseflies are known to transmit
more than 100 pathogens (disease producing organisms). [28] Sound from the flies' wings produces
a characteristic hum based upon the rapidity of their wing beat, where the housefly
beats 345 strokes a second in the middle octave key of F. [29] Night is a time of inactivity for
houseflies. Indoors, they will commonly come to rest in ceiling areas overhead; and,
outdoors, they will be found in various trees, shrubs, grasses. [30]
"Fly specks" of the housefly are actually vomit spots of regurgitation
used by the housefly to reduce solids into a more liquid form to be sucked up through
its proboscis. [31] Houseflies feed on sweet or decaying substances, mopping up only liquid
materials into their mouths (using their mouthparts like a sponge), and ingesting
solids through liquifying the material by means of regurgitated saliva. [32]
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