Housefly 681328 225805198 2008-07-15T14:12:19Z 65.80.23.150 {{Refimprove|date=February 2008}} {{Taxobox | name = Housefly | image = Musca.domestica.female.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = A female housefly | status = nutrines | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | subphylum = [[Hexapoda]] | classis = [[Insect]]a | subclassis = [[Pterygota]] | infraclassis = [[Neoptera]] | superordo = [[Endopterygota]]| | ordo = [[Fly|Diptera]] | familia = [[Muscidae]] | genus = ''[[Musca (genus)|Musca]]'' | species = '''''M. domestica''''' | binomial = ''Musca domestica'' | binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[Systema Naturae|1758]] }} The '''housefly''' (also '''house fly''', '''house-fly''' or '''common housefly'''), '''''Musca domestica''''', is the most common of all [[flies]] fluttering in homes, and indeed one of the most widely distributed insects; it is often considered a [[pest (animal)|pest]] that can carry serious diseases. == Physical description == [[Image:Housefly anatomy-key.svg|thumb|left|Anatomy of a housefly]] The adults are 6-9 [[millimetre|mm]] long. Their [[thorax]] is gray, with four dark longitudinal dark lines on the back, the underside of their abdomen is yellow, and their whole body is covered with hair. The females are slightly larger than the males and have a much larger space between their red [[compound eye]]s. Like most [[fly|Diptera]] (meaning "two-winged"), houseflies have only one pair of [[insect wing|wings]]; the hind pair is reduced to small [[halteres]] that aid in [[flight]] stability. Characteristically, the media vein (M1+2 or fourth long [[Insect_wing#Veins|vein]] of the wing) shows a sharp upward bend. Species that appear similar to the housefly include: * The [[lesser house fly]], ''Fannia canicularis'', is somewhat smaller, more slender, and the media vein is straight. * The [[stable fly]], ''Stomoxys calcitrans'', has piercing [[mouthpart]]s and the media vein is only slightly curved. Houseflies are subjects of study by scientists all over the world. == Life cycle == Each female fly can lay over 9,000 [[Egg (biology)|eggs]]. The eggs are white and are about 1.2 mm in length. Within a day, larvae ([[maggot]]s) hatch from the eggs; they live and feed in (usually dead and decaying) organic material, such as garbage or [[faeces]]. They are pale-whitish, 3-9 mm long, thinner at the mouth end, and have no legs. They live at least one week. At the end of their third [[instar]], the maggots crawl to a dry cool place and transform into [[pupa]]e, colored reddish or brown and about 8 mm long. The adult flies then emerge from the pupae. (This whole cycle is known as [[metamorphosis (biology)|complete metamorphosis]].) The adults live from half a month to a month in the wild, or longer in benign laboratory conditions. After having emerged from the pupae, the flies cease to grow; small flies are not young flies, but are indeed the result of getting insufficient food during the larval stage.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Some 36 hours after having emerged from the pupa, the female is receptive for mating. The male mounts her from behind to inject [[sperm]]. Normally the female mates only once, storing the sperm to use it repeatedly for laying several sets of eggs. Males are territorial: they will defend a certain territory against other males and will attempt to mount any females that enter that territory.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} [[Image:Housefly pupae killed by wasp larvae.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Housefly pupae killed by parasitic wasp larvae. Each pupa has one hole through which a single adult wasp emerged; feeding occurs during the wasp's larva stage.]] [[Image:Musca illustration.png|right|thumb|200px|Illustration of a housefly]] The flies depend on warm temperatures; generally, the warmer the temperature the faster the flies will develop. In winter, most of them survive in the larval or the pupa stage in some protected warm location. Houseflies can take in only liquid foods. They spit out [[saliva]] on solid foods to predigest it, and then suck it back inside. They also regurgitate partly digested matter and pass it again to the abdomen. The flies can walk on vertical planes, and can even hang upside-down from ceilings. This is accomplished with the [[surface tension]] of liquids secreted by [[gland]]s near their feet. When they are not flying, flies continually preen themselves, cleaning their eyes with their forelegs and dusting off their legs by rubbing them together. They do this because most of their taste and smell receptors lie on the hair of their legs. {{Fact|date=May 2008}} Flies have a very highly-evolved evasion reaction which helps to ensure their survival. It is possible to confuse a fly's evasion system by swatting it with two objects simultaneously from different directions. The holes in a [[fly swatter]] minimize the air current that warns the fly as being hit, whilst reducing air resistance and increasing speed of the swat. This evasion reaction can also be used against the fly.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Houseflies release a [[pheromone]] called [http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/muscalure.html muscalure] that serves both as [[Swarm|aggregation]] and [[sexual attraction]] purposes. The housefly is an object of biological research, mainly because of one remarkable quality: the [[Sex-determination system|sex determination]] mechanism. Although a wide variety of sex determination mechanisms exist in nature (e.g. male and female [[heterogamy]], [[haplodiploidy]], environmental factors) the way sex is determined is usually fixed within one [[species]]. However, the housefly exhibits many different mechanisms for sex determination, such as male heterogamy (like most [[insect]]s and [[mammal]]s), female heterogamy (like birds) and maternal control over offspring sex. This makes the housefly one of the most suitable species to study the [[evolution]] of sex determination. == Evolution == Even though the order of flies ([[Diptera]]) is much older, true houseflies evolved in the beginning of the [[Cenozoic]] era, some 65 million years ago. They are thought to have originated in the southern [[Palearctic]] region, particularly the Middle East. Because of their close, [[commensal]] relationship with man, they probably owe their worldwide dispersal to co-migration with humans. [http://www.hydeparkmedia.com/housefly.html][http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/93/4/] == Flies and humans == In colder climates, houseflies survive only with humans. They have a tendency to aggregate and are difficult to be dispelled. They are capable of carrying over 100 [[pathogen]]s, such as [[typhoid]], [[cholera]], [[Salmonella]], [[bacillary dysentery]], [[tuberculosis]], [[anthrax]], [[ophthalmia]], and [[parasitic worm]]s. The flies in poorer and lower-[[hygienic]] areas usually carry more pathogens. Some strains have become immune to most common [[insecticide]]s. House flies feed on liquid or semi-liquid substances beside solid material which has been softened by saliva or vomit. Because of their high intake of food, they deposit faeces constantly, one of the factors that makes the insect a very dangerous and heinous carrier of pathogens. It's the most important filth fly. Although they are domestic flies, usually confined to the human habitations, they can fly for several miles from the breeding place. They are active only in daytime and rest at night e.g. at the corners of rooms, ceiling hangings..etc. [[Image:flyb.jpg|thumb|right|Close-up of a flies head, showing compound eyes and hair]] ==Housefly as a vector of disease== Mechanical transmission of organisms on its hairs, mouth parts, vomitus and faeces: *parasitic diseases: Cysts of protozoa e.g. E, Histolytica, G. Lamblia and eggs of helminths e.g.:Ascaris Lumbricoides, Trichuros Trichura, Haemenolypes Nana, Enterobius Vermicularis. *bacterial diseases: Typhoid, cholera, dysentery, pyogenic cocci...etc. *Viruses: Enteroviruses: Poliomyelitis, infective hepatitis (a & e)..etc ==Housefly as a causative agent of diseases== Accidental [[Myiasis]]. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons|Musca domestica}} {{Wikispecies|Musca domestica}} * [http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/flies/house_fly.htm Housefly] from the University of Florida * [http://icb.usp.br/~marcelcp/Muscadomestica.htm Many annotated images] * [http://www.hydeparkmedia.com/housefly.html Article on the housefly], by Anthony DeBartolo, ''Chicago Tribune'' * From [[The Straight Dope]] website: ** [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_043.html How does a fly land upside down on the ceiling?] ** [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a940204.html Why flies rub their hands together] ** [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_022.html If I hadn't killed 52 flies as a child, how many descendants would they have had by now?] * [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11902690&query_hl=1 Dübendorfer A, Hediger M, Burghardt G, Bopp D. "Musca domestica, a window on the evolution of sex-determining mechanisms in insects". ''Int J Dev Biol''. 2002, 46(1):75-9.] * [http://scholar.google.com/url?sa=U&q=http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/index/0HWHMF75LPPG7YP6.pdf Brian M. Wiegmann, David K. Yeates, Jeffrey L. Thorne, Hirohisa Kishino "Time Flies, a New Molecular Time-Scale for Brachyceran Fly Evolution Without a Clock". ''Systematic Biology''. 2003, 52(6):745-756] * [http://www.flycontrol.novartis.com/species/housefly/en/index.shtml Pictorial presentation of life-cycle] *[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18050 ''The House Fly and How to Suppress It'', by L. O. Howard and F. C. Bishopp. U. S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 1408, 1928], from [[Project Gutenberg]] ** [http://www.zideo.nl/index.php?option=com_podfeed&zideo=6c494f526e413d3d&playzideo=6c5961616d31733d Video: Common Housefly 60x enlarged and alive under microscope.] [[Category:Flies]] [[Category:Muscidae]] [[Category:Cosmopolitan species]] [[ar:ذبابة المنزل]] [[bg:Домашна муха]] [[pdc:Mick]] [[de:Stubenfliege]] [[eml:Måsca]] [[fr:Mouche domestique]] [[it:Musca domestica]] [[he:זבוב הבית]] [[la:Musca]] [[lt:Kambarinė musė]] [[nah:Zāyōlin]] [[nl:Huisvlieg]] [[pl:Mucha domowa]] [[pt:Mosca-doméstica]] [[ru:Комнатная муха]] [[simple:Housefly]] [[sr:Кућна мува]] [[sv:Husfluga]] [[tr:Karasinek]] [[bat-smg:Mosė]]