Lesser house fly
Lesser house fly | |
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Fannia canicularis male Trawscoed , North Wales
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Family: | Fanniidae |
Genus: | Fannia |
Species: | F. canicularis
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Binomial name | |
Fannia canicularis (Linnaeus, 1761)
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Synonyms | |
The lesser house fly (Fannia canicularis) , commonly known as little house fly, is a species of fly. It is somewhat smaller (3.5–6 mm (0.14–0.24 in)) than the common housefly and is best known for its habit of entering buildings and flying in jagged patterns in the middle of a room. It is slender, and the median vein in the wing is straight. Larvae feed on all manner of decaying organic matter, including carrion.
Morphology
Fannia canicularis is a slim fly reaching a length of from 4 to 6 mm. The white-bordered eyes meet above in the male, a condition described as
Development
The females lay their eggs in batches of up to 50 and may lay up to 2,000 eggs altogether. The eggs, which are white with a pair of dorsal longitudinal flanges or wings, can float in liquid and semiliquid decaying organic matter, especially poultry, cow and dog feces, kitchen waste such as the end of putrid potatoes or carrots, silage and compost, cheese, bacon, and drying fish. They are commonly found in garbage depots,
Behaviour
Fannia canicularis is spread worldwide. They have a life expectancy of two to three weeks. In Central Europe, about seven generations can develop per year. They are often found on excrement and on vertebrate animals. Because of their oscillating between excrement and human food, they are considered possible disease carriers. From May to October, the lesser housefly comes frequently into buildings and is noticeable by its peculiar, silent flight in the room center, where it circles down-hanging articles, particularly lamps. It changes the flight direction jerkily. This is a patrol flight, in which the males supervise, if necessary, their district and attack intruders. During short breaks and in the night hours, the flies sit on lamps or on walls and leave their small excrement marks. In the wild, tree branches serve the flies for their swarm dances.
References
- ^ a b c d Harris, M. (1780). An exposition of English insects. Vol. Decads III, IV. London: Robson Co. pp. 73–99, 100–138, pls. 21–30, 31–40. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- Steve, Peter C. (1960), "Biology and Control of the Little House Fly, Fannia canicularis, in Massachusetts", Journal of Economic Entomology, 53 (6): 999–1004.
- Zeil, Jochen (1986), "The territorial flight of male houseflies (Fannia canicularis L.)", Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 19 (3): 213–219, .