COMMON HOUSE-FLY

The Latin name for this fly is Musca domestica.

Houseflies are major pests. Each fly may carry as many as 6 million bacteria on its feet. If it has recently walked in excrement, it may transmit pathogens causing typhoid, cholera, dysentery, leprosy, poliomyelitis and infectious hepatitis, as well as the eggs of parasitic worms.

The housefly is a small fly, up to 9mm long, greyish, with orange-buff on the abdomen. It is often found in and around human habitations.

Each adult female fly lays several hundred eggs in decaying vegetable matter, including manure, compost, and household waste. The larvae, or maggots, may complete their growth in as little as one week, with five more days spent in the pupal stage. Six or more generations may hatch in a single summer, resulting in a vast number of flies.

This fly may be seen in any month in warmer parts of Europe, but is most common from June-October.