Insects with a single pair of wings; the hind pair became small balancing organs. There are over 150,000 species. The housefly has spread worldwide alongside people.
Quick answers
What is it?Insect
Carnivore?Omnivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inWorldwide
HabitatTowns, Farmland, Forest, Grassland
ColoursBlack, Grey
SizeTiny
Length6–7 mm (housefly)
Legs6
Covered inExoskeleton
Lives ingroups
Lives for1 month
Can fly
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Worldwide.
- What it eats
- Liquids: houseflies soften solid food with saliva and taste it with their feet.
Did you know
Sees time more slowly than you, which is why you keep missing.
Flies are major pollinators, second only to bees and their relatives.
Often confused with
- Mosquito
Mosquitoes are small flies with a long piercing mouthpart. Most other flies lap up liquids instead.
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