Interesting facts about houseflies
WE have talked about many repulsing insects like bed bugs and cockroaches, but one of the most annoying pests is the house fly. Houseflies are particularly a problem because they are always trying to get near our food.
You never want to see them at your house or at a restaurant; pretty much never really. But maybe these little guys are just misunderstood? Maybe learning a little bit about them will not make us hate them so much. Below are some fun facts about houseflies so we can learn a little bit about them.
• Houseflies have compound eyes:— This means that their eyes are made up of thousands of lenses, giving houseflies a very wide range of vision. This allows them to see their environment almost completely and also allows them to see any predators. This is why it is so hard to kill a fly.
• Houseflies cannot actually bite you:— Houseflies have “spongy” mouthparts so they can only suck up liquids. This might make you wonder why they try to eat solid foods? Houseflies secrete their saliva onto food and then suck up the liquid that is created when the saliva and the food mix.
• Houseflies collect pathogens from what they land on or eat:— Houseflies are not sanitary creatures as they will eat or land on just about anything, including faeces. Whatever they land on, they take the pathogens that were on it to the next place they land. They also leave droppings of what they eat which also carries pathogens. Houseflies can spread all kinds of germs making them very unhealthy.
• Houseflies have a very short life span:— Their eggs hatch in less than a day and they become mature adults in only 10 days! The typical life span of a housefly is only a month, however the environment plays a huge role. Houseflies can live longer during cooler temperatures and if they have access to sustainable food such as sugar. Warmer temperatures actually speed up their life cycle so they die quicker, but during warmer months, two or more generations may be completed in a single month. Without food they would die in two-three days.
• Houseflies bodies are covered in little hairs:— The purpose of these little hairs are to act like taste buds for the flies so they know what they land on. The hairs also tell the fly of changes in wind direction.
After these fun facts, while I know a little more about houseflies, I still think they’re disgusting. Houseflies can spread disease so it is important to keep them away from your family and loved ones.