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| Class: | Order: | Family: | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Muscidae | |
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| Size: | House fly adult is about 1/8-1/4 in (4-7.5 mm) long, female larger than male. Mature larva is about 1/4-3/8 in (7-10mm). |
| Color: | Adult is dull gray. Larva is cream colored and greasy looking. |
| Characteristics: | Adult face has 2 velvety strips, silver above and gold below; thorax has 4 narrow stripes; no pale spot behind head or rear tip of thorax; sides of abdomen usually pale; sponging mouth parts. Larva is eyeless, legless, tapered from rear to head, which is a pair of dark hooks. |
| Geographic Range: | House flies are distributed worldwide, and throughout the U.S. |
| Food: | House flies are general feeders on liquids; attracted to many substances, from excrement to human foods. House flies can liquefy solid foods by regurgitation. |
| Biology: | Adult female lays oval, white eggs singly in clusters of 20-50, laying 350-900 eggs in her lifetime. Eggs hatch in 8-20 hours. Larvae go through 3 instars in 3-7 days at 70-90 degrees F. Full grown larvae go to a cool, dry place to pupate, traveling up to 150 feet in 3-4 days. Pupa goes from yellowish to black during a period of a few days to a month, depending on temperature and humidity. After emerging, the body hardens and the wings dry within about an hour. Development from egg to adult can be as few as 6 days, with 10-12 generations per summer. Adults live 15-25 days. |
