House Fly

Houseflies have evolved in close association with man and his environment. The presence of flies is not simply annoying but presents a real risk of disease transmission. Flies are both active and mechanical (passive) transmitters of a number of important diseases. Their behaviour makes them efficient at picking up disease causing organisms from rubbish, sewage and faecal matter. They regurgitate, defecate or simply transfer pathogens on their legs or mouthparts to human and animal food.

Musca domestica, the common housefly is dependent on human settlements and domestic animals and frequently enters houses.

The housefly is extremely prolific and has a tremendous potential for population growth in a short space of time. In theory, if all the offspring survived, then one pair of flies could produce a population of well over 6 million within two months. This demonstrates how rapidly a small population can increase dramatically. It also illustrates the importance of early season fly control.

M. domestica, as an adult is 6-8mm in length with a 13-15mm wingspan. It has a grey thorax with 4 longitudinal dark stripes. The front part of the abdomen is buff coloured with a central dark band that broadens to cover the last abdominal segments.

Life Cycle

The housefly has a complete metamorphosis from egg, larva, pupa and adult. Development is temperature dependent but the life cycle is usually completed within 10-20 days, although in tropical or hot areas development times may be reduced to 7-9 days. In the third and final larval instar the mature larvae (maggot) migrate from the breeding area and burrow into loose dry ground nearby and transforms into the next stage, the pupa. When the pupal development is complete the adult fly contained within breaks out by inflating an extrudable sac like structure on its head.

Disease Transmission
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