The most common insect that we interact with in our lives are the housefly. Scientifically known as Musca domestica, the common housefly accounts for 91% of all the flies that live within the human habitation. It is for the reason that they are known as house fly. They literally live within our homes and eat our food. They are elusive insects that are difficult to eradicate physically.
The lifespan of a fly is simple and short. The flies that infest our homes have a lifespan of between 15 to 30 days. The lifespan varies depending on the temperatures and living conditions Flies that live within the homes and warm dwelling live longer than those living in the wild live. They also develop faster than those living in harsh conditions do. Like other flies, the housefly passes through four distinct stages. Which are the egg, larva, pupa, and the adult. What you commonly interact with is the adult housefly.
The houseflies have a brief cycle. The brief cycle is the major cause of its uncontrolled population. With such a short life cycle, the flies multiple quickly and should be controlled. You need to know that the flies carry more than 100 diseases including deadly diseases such as tuberculosis and cholera. The insects instantly transmit the diseases by feeding and carrying pathogens within their feet and mouths. To know more about the lifespan of the housefly, let us discuss process in its stages of development and its way of life.
Houseflies and human beings. Relationship, pro and cons.
Probably everyone has a relationship with houseflies. Houseflies are everywhere in our homes and in extension in our lives. The nature of the relationship between humans and the flies is not cordial. They will get a hint whenever there is something for them within our house. Try keeping something rotting within your house and the houseflies will come in within a short period from nowhere.
During cold seasons, the houseflies need humans for them to survive. The conditions within the homes of human beings are right for the survival, gestation, and reproduction of the insects. If they say outside during these periods, the insects will die or will develop inappropriately. Insects like or have to stay within your house during these conditions. Their reproduction process and the fact that they lay thousands of eggs within their lifetime make them able to survive even the toughest conditions.
However, these guests are not the kind of guest that comes with good tidings in your home. Houseflies are known to transmit more than 100 diseases as earlier mentioned. They are not ordinary carriers of pathogens. They are more deadly. The insects feed on liquid or semiliquid substances in large quantities. They always deposit feces constantly spreading pathogens. This makes their rate of disease transmission among the highest there is though insects.
Houseflies can be useful especially in waste management. The ability of their larvae to feed on decaying organic matter can be used to recycle nutrients that are in nature. Studies show that the approach ca be used to control the high amount of waste in the environment. Although the approach has not been fully exploited, the chances of using the insects would be highly beneficial. Humans have also used harvested maggots as feed for animals. The maggots have nutrients that are good for the animals. This advantage has been used by humans to make good of the disgusting insect.
Gestation of houseflies
Typical of insects, the housefly experiences a four-phase life cycle that begins when fertilized females’ lays their eggs. The females have to find a suitable place to lay their eggs to access nutrients. The gestation period of a housefly is only 24 hours. The insect transforms into four stages. The various stages require special conditions for their development to maturity.
The lifespan and the lifecycle of the housefly position it as a unique insect within its habitat. First, it lays many eggs to enhance its chances of survival. Secondly, the larvae feed on disgusting material that would not attract humans to it. Then the next stage requires a dry area. The insect lives longer when the conditions are good and develops faster at such optimized conditions.
The life cycle
A female fly lays approximately 9000 eggs within its lifetime. The eggs are laid in batches of 75 to 150 eggs. The eggs measure about 1.2mm in length. If you see white stuffs, though they are very difficult to see, then you have spotted the eggs. Within a day, they will transform to larvae or maggots. The maggots feed on decaying organic materials. They are the pale whitish organisms that you see with no legs and are approximately 3 to 9 mm long.
Within 14 and 36 hours the maggots look for a dry, cool place where its transforms to the next stage in life which is pupae. Look out for reddish brown creatures that are about 8mm long. From the pupae emerge adult flies. The adults are the disease carrying houseflies that live in our homes.
Once the houseflies have emerged from the pupae, they cease to grow. They will have attained their maximum size. If you see small flies, know that this is their size and they will not grow bigger. Their small size is as a result of poor feeding during the larvae stage. Bigger flies usually in toilets are subject of good living conditions and feeding during the pupae. If you have big flies in your house, that means you are providing conducive environment for the pupae.
Intriguing facts about houseflies
The housefly has intrigued interest in biology mainly because of the sex determination of the flies. The housefly is an interesting creature because it exhibits many different mechanisms for sex determination. Study show that the insect is like other insects and mammals when it comes to male heterogamy. It’s like birds in female heterogamy like birds and maternal control over offspring.
Flies are also interesting because they are only active during the day. You should not see a fly during the night unless it is for some strange reasons. The flies are active only when the sun is up and get inactive when the sun goes down. The flies are thought to have originated from southern Palearctic region, specifically the Middle East. Their relationship with human beings is one of the factors that is posed to have resulted to their dispersal.
The feeding process is a relatively interesting one; with these insects restricted to the consumption of liquids, there feeding habits revolve around the fly’s secretion of saliva onto select food items, which are then sucked up through the proboscis.
Houseflies are usually ready to breed within five days of reaching maturation, with the copulation process lasting anywhere between two and fifteen minutes and initiated once the fly has been properly fed. The life of a housefly will end naturally following ordinary processes of degradation, unless the advent of death is sped up by a lack of food or the presence of cold conditions, though humans can prove just as effective in ensuring their termination.