How long from pupa to fly

As many as 10 to 12 generations may occur annually in temperate regions, while more than 20 generations may occur in subtropical and tropical regions. Figure 2. Life cycle of the house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus. Clockwise from left: eggs, larva, pupa, adult. Egg: The white egg, about 1. Each female fly can lay up to eggs in several batches of 75 to eggs over a three to four day period.

The number of eggs produced is a function of female size which, itself, is principally a result of larval nutrition. Often, several flies will deposit their eggs in close proximity, leading to large masses of larvae and pupae. Eggs must remain moist or they will not hatch. Figure 3. Adult and eggs of the house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus. Photograph by Jerry F. Butler , University of Florida.

Larva: Early instar larvae are 3 to 9 mm long, typical creamy whitish in color, cylindrical but tapering toward the head. The head contains one pair of dark hooks. The posterior spiracles are slightly raised and the spiracular openings are sinuous slits which are completely surrounded by an oval black border. The legless maggot emerges from the egg in warm weather within eight to 20 hours. Maggots immediately begin feeding on and developing in the material in which the egg was laid.

The larva goes through three instars and a full-grown maggot, 7 to 12 mm long, has a greasy, cream-colored appearance. High-moisture manure favors the survival of the house fly larva. Nutrient-rich substrates such as animal manure provide an excellent developmental substrate. Very little manure is needed for larval development, and sand or soil containing small amounts of degraded manure allows for successful belowground development.

When the maggot is full-grown, it can crawl up to 50 feet to a dry, cool place near breeding material and transform to the pupal stage. Pupa: The pupal stage, about 8 mm long, is passed in a pupal case formed from the last larval skin which varies in color from yellow, red, brown, to black as the pupa ages. The shape of the pupa is quite different from the larva, being bluntly rounded at both ends. The emerging fly escapes from the pupal case through the use of an alternately swelling and shrinking sac, called the ptilinum, on the front of its head which it uses like a pneumatic hammer to break through the case.

Figure 4. Prepupa and sequence of puparia by age for the house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus. Adult: The house fly is 6 to 7 mm long, with the female usually larger than the male.

The female can be distinguished from the male by the relatively wide space between the eyes in males, the eyes almost touch. The head of the adult fly has reddish-eyes and sponging mouthparts. The thorax bears four narrow black stripes and there is a sharp upward bend in the fourth longitudinal wing vein.

The abdomen is gray or yellowish with dark midline and irregular dark markings on the sides. The underside of the male is yellowish. Figure 5. Photograph by Matt Aubuchon, University of Florida. Figure 6. Lateral view of the head of an adult house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus. The house fly is often confused with the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans Linnaeus , and the false stable fly, Muscina stabulans Germar.

All three are in the same family. Figure 7. A dorsal comparison of adult stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans Linnaeus left , and house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus right. Figure 8. A ventral comparison of adult stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans Linnaeus left , and house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus right. Adults usually live 15 to 25 days, but may live up to two months. Without food, they survive only about two to three days. Longevity is enhanced by availability of suitable food, especially sugar.

Access to animal manure does not lengthen adult life and they live longer at cooler temperatures. They require food before they will copulate, and copulation is completed in as few as two minutes or as long as 15 minutes.

Oviposition commences four to 20 days after copulation. Female flies need access to suitable food protein to allow them to produce eggs, and manure alone is not adequate. The potential reproductive capacity of flies is tremendous, but fortunately can never be realized. Scientists have calculated that a pair of flies beginning reproduction in April may be progenitors, under optimal conditions and if all were to live, of ,,,,,, flies by August. The flies are inactive at night, with ceilings, beams and overhead wires within buildings, trees, and shrubs, various kinds of outdoor wires, and grasses reported as overnight resting sites.

In poultry ranches, the nighttime, outdoor aggregations of flies are found mainly in the branches, and shrubs, whereas almost all of the indoor populations generally aggregated in the ceiling area of poultry houses. According to a recent National Geographic article published October , close proximity to food may, in fact, reduce the lifespan.

The article summarizes a study which examined the diets of house flies in correlation with overall length of life. The flies able to eat freely, as those representative of house flies living in warmer climates close to open food sources, lived roughly 10 days fewer than the average fly. Seasons also affect the average lifespan of house flies. The flies are most active during the warmer summer months.

During winter, flies primarily hibernate. Warmer temperatures promote more widespread access to food sources, as well, which accelerates fly metabolic rates and reduces life expectancy.

Canadian climates generally promote longer fly life, due to consistently cooler temperatures which feature less access to food sources. To some, fruit flies are probably the most headache inducing pest to deal with. What these flies lack in stinging or biting power, they more than make up for in being a consistent nuisance in your home or business. Using our industry knowledge and expertise, we have put together five easy tips to keep fruit flies out of your kitchen. Flies are an ever-present threat in the restaurant industry.

The best thing you can do to keep flies out of this food preparation area is to apply a proven fly management program comprised of monitoring, sanitation and exclusion techniques. The most distinctive feature for separating larvae of different instars is the structure of the posterior spiracles, though which the larvae respire.

Some flies produce predatory maggots that feed on other maggots. The predatory maggots of Chrysomya rufifacies are covered with spiny protrusions which deter other predators. Maggots fly larvae are remarkable eating machines. Their front ends are armed with mouth hooks with which they rake in decaying flesh, shredded from the corpse. Their rear ends consist of a chamber, in which their anus and posterior spiracles are located.

They also have anterior spiracles. Spiracles are used for breathing, and the possession of spiracles in a posterior location means that maggots can breath feeding 24 hours a day. Between their heads and their tails is a muscular, segmented body, a simple intestine and a pair of very large salivary glands. They wriggle easily through a corpse, secreting digestive enzymes and spreading putrefying bacteria which help create their soupy environment.

Maggots are gregarious animals and travel around in 'maggot masses'. The adult fly looks for the nourishment it needs to reach maturity, breed, and lay eggs in new season crops.

At this stage of the life cycle you may be able to recognise adult flies landing on or sheltering amongst vegetation or landing on fruit. Fruit fly numbers tend to increase, usually in spring, when temperatures are warm and there is continued availability of suitable host plants.

Under good conditions, fruit flies develop from eggs to adults within four to five weeks. Agriculture Victoria developed the following video about about the life cycle of Queensland fruit fly, how it spreads, and how to monitor fruit and vegetables for signs of infestation and control numbers.

Life cycle Knowing the fruit fly life-cycle makes it easier to control them. Life cycle of fruit flies.