365 Urban Species. #054: Little House Fly

[urbpan]

Urban species #054: Little house fly Fannia canicularis

The little house fly (distinct from the common house fly Musca domestica) comes indoors to seek warmth, but prefers access to poultry manure to breed. It seems likely that its association with humans first occured when humans began to associate with chickens. While house fly larvae are familiar white maggots, the larva of this fly (also called the lesser house fly) is brown and has fleshy spines. The spines help the maggot propel itself through the soft manure that serves as its habitat and food. Flies are fairly adaptable animals, and if there is no chicken manure to live in, other decaying organic matter can suffice. Little house flies are considered pests, potentially carrying disease-causing bacteria from such matter to household surfaces. In some especially rare and gruesome cases, they have been implicated in urinary myiasis, and if you don't know what that means, you're probably the better for it.

Thanks to badnoodles for the identification.

Comments

myawhafuckasis

[lynsage.livejournal.com]

oh

my

god

I Am Upset

[http://users.livejournal.com/-xaipe-/]

that I now know what "myiasis" is.

You are a bad bad man.

Re: I Am Upset

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

A little knowledge is a horrible thing.

Re: I Am Upset

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

Hey,

I knew about Myiasis. You prolly don't even want to go anywhere near "Canthariasis" *g*

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

I've elected not to click on myiasis for the time being.

Are those the little flies that congregate and do aerial dogfights under the light fittings in the summer, and hardly ever settle on anything? Drives me (and Squish, who likes hunting insects) batshit.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thank you for describing that behavior! Yes, precisely:

"Instead of buzzing around a room and landing on food, the lesser house flies are most often seen in the center of the room flying straight paths under a light fixture or dangling moblie. The flight ot broken with erratic zigzags. Often several flies will fly together in the middle of the room. Most of these flies are males, and it is thought that the circling clusters are engaged in a behavior related to mating. Occasionally a male bolts off after a female that has been attracted to the cluster."
-Steven D. Garber, The Urban Naturalist, Dover Books 1987.

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

Squish is particularly amusing when he leaps in the air trying to catch them. He's more successful with bigger insects, though. His best catch so far was a may bug.

He's frightened of them after he catches them. Daft dog.