Timmivuq • Fly

Flies are the only winged insects with only 2 wings. The hind wings are transformed in club-shaped halteres for stabilization. Some species mimic bees and wasps in colour patterns. Flies are important as pollinators, decomposers, predators and as parasites of other insects and mammals.

House Fly

Muscidae

Photo Credit: Common House Fly by United States Department of Agriculture, (n.d.). https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/04/23/building-better-fly-swatter-based-science. Licenced with Public Domain.

House flies are gray to black with four dark, longitudinal lines on the back and red eyes.  It is the most common fly species found in houses. 

Flower Fly

Syrphidae

Photo Credit: Flower Fly by Maxim Larrivée/Montreal Insectarium - Espace pour la vie, (n.d.). Licenced with Permission.

Flower flies are flies that mimic wasps or bees in colour patterns. They don't bite or sting. But sounding and looking like wasps can make birds and other predators avoid them. Unlike bees and wasps that have 4 wings, flies have only 2 wings. Adults visit flowers and are important pollinators. They exhibit a characteristic flight pattern: they hover. Larvae help control pests such as aphids.

Warble Fly

Oestridae

Photo Credit: Oestridae by Maxim Larrivée - Montreal Insectarium - Espace pour la vie, (n.d.). Licenced with Permission.

Warble flies resemble bumble bees with large bulging eyes and 2 wings instead of 4. They are medium-sized to very large heavy-bodied flies. As larvae, all Oestridae are obligate parasites in the bodies or tissues of living vertebrates, such as caribou. 

(Description Source: Montreal Insectarium - Espace pour la vie)

Main Photo Credit: Common House Fly by United States Department of Agriculture, (n.d.). https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/04/23/building-better-fly-swatter-based-science. Licenced with Public Domain.