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Fly Identification
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House flies, mosquitoes, crane flies, & gnats -
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Summary:
The flies (Diptera) are an extremely large and
diverse group of insects including mosquitoes,
gnats, crane flies, house flies, and even horse and
deer flies. Almost all flies require water to
develop and the habitat often determines what type
of flies are common in that area.
Jack
DeAngelis, PhD
OSU Ext.
Entomologist (ret.)
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There are many thousands of species of
flies (Diptera) worldwide including some of the most
important insects in terms of their direct impacts
on our health and property. The flies include
mosquitoes, and other small delicate gnat-like
insects, larger crane flies, as well as house flies
and even large horse and deer flies. They all belong
to the insect order called Diptera and are
distinguished from all other insects by having only
1 pair of wings as adults, other winged
insects usually have two pairs of wings.
Researchers recognize two broad groups
of flies, "higher flies" and "primitive
flies". The so-called higher flies include,
for example, house flies, horse flies, cluster
flies, fruit flies and black flies while the
primitive flies are the mosquitoes, crane flies,
midges, gnats, and other small, delicate flies.
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house
fly about 1/4" long
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Fly larvae (maggots)
Fly larvae are also called maggots.
Depending on the fly, maggots can develop in water,
wet soil, manure, rotting vegetable matter,
decomposing animal tissue, and, in some cases, living
animal and plant tissue, some are even predators.
Maggots are generally legless and without a distinct
"head" but some primitive flies, for example fungus
gnats, have a distinct, dark head capsule.
Flies undergo complete metamorphosis.
This means that in addition to the larval stage flies
exhibit a pupal stage in which the
transformation from larva to adult occurs. Fly pupae
are distinctive between groups and can often aid in
identification and are often used as the target in fly
control programs.
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Fly control
Effective fly control depends on
determining the identity of the pest fly because this
will often be a good clue about where the flies are
developing. The site where fly larvae develop is
sometimes called the "breeding source" and
once this source is found, you can often reduce fly
numbers simply by managing, treating or eliminating
the source. Sometimes the source is obvious such as a
mosquito-infested pond or a garbage dumpster but
sometimes it is not, for example a poorly drained
field can be the source of a tiny fly called a biting
midge. See the links in the table below for control
information about particular pest flies.
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Sources of pest flies
Most fly larvae, or maggots, need very
wet conditions and some are even aquatic. Use the
table below to identify different habitats where
common pest species can develop and the links for
specific information and pictures about each pest.
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Where Do Flies Come From?
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