Housefly
The housefly is the grey fly that buzzes around our homes. It has big red eyes, a hairy body and four dark stripes on its back. It can walk upside down on the ceiling and tastes food with its feet.
How big is it?
How long is it?
How wide are its wings?
How big is Housefly compared to YOU?
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How fast is it?
Fun facts
It sees about seven times faster than we do, so your hand looks like it moves in slow motion. That is why it is so hard to swat.
It has taste buds on its feet and tastes things just by walking on them.
It rubs its legs together to clean its feet, so it can taste the next thing it walks on.
Sticky pads on its feet let it walk up glass and across the ceiling.
To land on the ceiling, it flies straight up and does a half roll at the last moment.
Most asked questions about Housefly
?Do houseflies bite?
No. Houseflies cannot bite, but they can carry germs onto food.
?How long does a housefly live?
Usually two to four weeks.
?Why is it so hard to swat a fly?
It sees movements much faster than we do, so it notices your hand coming and flies away.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Musca domestica
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Muscidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Muscidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Housefly (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by USDAgov. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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