Content:
- Types of Flies
- What is a Lifespan of a House Fly?
- Which are the Longest Living Flies?
- Factors Affecting the Lifespan of Flies
- Summary
Flies are among the most common insects to exist in our immediate environment. You will most likely spot a tiny two-winged insect floating around if you look around where you are.
Flies are more interesting than they seem as they have a very interesting lifespan. They may not be alive for long, but what keeps them ‘immortal’ is their reproduction rate. So what’s the lifespan of a fly? Let’s explore everything you need to know about a fly’s lifespan and why they’re not as ordinary as we think.
Types of Flies
There are several types of flies with varied impacts on human beings and their surroundings.
If we delve into this scientifically, there is a record of more than 120,000 species of flies. That’s a whole lot of flies!
Here are the five types of flies you are most likely to encounter indoors or right outside your house. If you’re a fan of the outdoors, your chances of coming across these flies are higher.
House Fly
Houseflies are relatively common and can easily be found indoors. They are quite a nuisance primarily because they are associated with filth.
The best thing is that they do not bite.
What attracts houseflies are kitchen bins, drainage systems, and dirty surfaces. If you keep your house clean and ensure there’s no access from drainages, you can be housefly-free.
The most natural way to be rid of houseflies is to starve them. Remove any access they may have to food and water.
Fruit Fly
Fruit flies are smaller in size than houseflies. They are attracted to fruits and vegetables, especially rotten ones. Fruit flies are also linked with fermented liquids like beer and wine.
Despite their expensive taste, these flies are also associated with filth and unsanitary conditions. They have a rapid reproduction rate and can therefore cause havoc if not prevented from breeding.
Fruit flies love dark and damp areas, so prevention would begin with getting rid of such conditions.
Horse Fly
Just as their name suggests, horse flies are notorious horse and mammal pests. Unlike the housefly and fruit fly, female horse flies feed on blood, and their bites can cause allergic reactions.
They are commonly found in or near water bodies. Wooded areas are also another great spot for these flies to wait for their potential hosts.
If you feel pain worse than that of a mosquito and you are in a horse fly hot spot, there’s no doubt a female horsefly has attacked you.
Another significant indicator is that they don’t let go of you until they have had enough blood from you. Unbelievably, horseflies are so persistent that they will chase you till they’re sure they cannot get you.
Sand Fly
They are tiny insects, which are dangerous as they may spread diseases to humans and animals, for example, sandfly fever.
Their bites are very painful, and once identified, a knowledgeable fumigation company must destroy their habitats.
Typical habitats for sand flies are dry tree holes, hollow logs, tropical and subtropical jungles. Female sand flies must consume blood before producing eggs, which explains their dire need for blood.
Black Fly
If you live near wildlife or keep livestock at home, watch out for black flies. They are not known to transmit human diseases in the United States, but black flies are notorious for “river blindness” in Africa.
Reactions to black flies are diverse and range from mild to severe.
Just like the sand flies, female black flies require blood for egg production. Identification of breeding sites must be followed by fumigation to prevent the impact these flies can have on human beings and animals alike.
What is the Lifespan of a House Fly?
The wheel of life typically begins with the eggs that hatch into larvae, pupa, and finally, the adult fly.
Female houseflies are known to mate only once in their lifetime but can lay up to 900 eggs before they die. That’s a lot of flies when and if they get to be adult houseflies.
So how long do flies live?
Adult houseflies typically live for 15- 28 days. This is so if the temperatures are proper and they have enough food and water supply.
This is a short lifespan, but they compensate with their high rate of egg production. Houseflies reproduce year-round, thus the high numbers of houseflies seen around.
Which are the Longest Living Flies?
Have you ever heard of the statement that houseflies die after 24hours? Let’s squash that here and now.
The housefly holds the record for the longest living fly. Unfortunately, these are closest to humans since they can be found in homes, especially in kitchens.
The shortest lifespan on record would have to be that of the mayfly. Mayflies only live for 24 hours.
The lifespan of a fly typically being stretched up to 28 days means that they will have laid the maximum amount of eggs possible in their time. Thankfully, some bugs live up to 15 years, so this is not that bad.
If you want to cut short this life-cycle, you are advised to do so at the egg stage, which might pose quite a problem to identifying their breeding site.
There are a lot of commercial products available to get rid of these insects, but if they overwhelm you, which in most cases they will, contact professionals to handle it for you.
Factors Affecting the Lifespan of Flies
Yes, the lifespan of a fly goes up to a maximum of 28 days. However, some factors may lead to a reduction and sudden end to a fly’s existence.
Here’s a breakdown of these factors:
- Fly Species
As stated above, there are several species of flies that go up to the hundreds of thousands.
Each has varied periods for staying alive. The housefly, the longest living fly, lasts 28 days, whereas the mayfly only lives 24 hours.
The species has a lot to do with the lifespan of a fly.
- Temperature
Warm moist areas are the most favorable for flies to lay and mature eggs. The development is shortened, but the lifespan of a fly reduces in these conditions.
Adult flies are said to thrive and become more active, the colder it gets in their environment.
- Availability of Food and Water
Just like all other living beings, flies require adequate food and water to stay alive. Due to their proximity to human food and water sources, houseflies exist as the longest living fly.
It can live very comfortably as long as a fly gets what it likes to feed on most, like rotten food, sweet fermented liquids (for fruit flies).
- Human Intervention
All the factors above can be regarded as natural and uncontrollable. Human intervention with the use of insecticides and other chemicals shortens and ends the lifespan of a fly.
Summary
The most important question, “how long do flies live?” has been answered concerning the various factors that affect its existence.
Naturally, flies reproduce more to make up for the short amount of time they live. The existence of flies in your environment is not encouraged since some can cause and transmit diseases to human beings and animals.
In case these flies become a nuisance to you, employ the safest measures to get rid of them to avoid affecting you and the natural environment around you.
