Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Flies and mosquitoes
Sticker of Stable fly
Bug card No. 1298 of 1,500

Stable fly

Stomoxys calcitrans
Name means: “sharp mouth and kicking”
Eats: BloodFlies and mosquitoesHouses and farms6 legs

The stable fly looks a lot like an ordinary housefly, but it has a secret: a sharp, pointy mouth for biting. It lives where cows and horses are kept. Both the males and the females drink blood.

Lives in
All over the world, around farms and stables
Length
6 to 8 mm (0.24 to 0.31 in)
Top speed
about 8 km/h (5 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite or sting
Its bite really stings, but for people it is usually just an ouch. It can carry some illnesses between farm animals.
What does it eat?
The grown-up flies drink blood from cows, horses, dogs and sometimes people, during the day. Their maggots grow up in rotting manure, hay and seaweed.
For real!Photo of Stable fly
Picture by Fritz Geller-Grimm. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Stable fly about 8 mm long (0.31 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailcould fly across a whole football pitch in 47 secondsmoves 280 times its own body length every second

How big is Stable fly compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its scientific name means sharp mouth and kicking, maybe because animals kick when it bites them.

2

It is a bit smaller than a housefly and has a spotted tummy.

3

After drinking blood for a few minutes, it gets full and sleepy for a while.

4

Its whole life cycle, from egg to adult, takes only about two weeks when it is warm.

5

Cows bothered by lots of stable flies can give less milk.

you asked

Most asked questions about Stable fly

?Do stable flies bite people?

Yes, especially when people sit still outdoors. The bite hurts, but it is usually harmless.

?How is a stable fly different from a housefly?

It is a bit smaller with a spotted tummy, and it has a pointy biting mouth instead of a spongy one.

?Where do stable flies live?

Around farms and stables where cows and horses are kept, and on beaches with rotting seaweed.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Stomoxys calcitrans
Group
Flies and mosquitoes
Family
Muscidae
Classification
Insecta > Diptera > Muscidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania
Also known as
Barn fly, Biting house fly, Dog fly, Power mower fly

Where the facts come from

  1. Stable fly (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Fritz Geller-Grimm. CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.

More from the same group: Flies and mosquitoes

HouseflyFlies and mosquitoesNew World screwworm flyFlies and mosquitoesLovebugFlies and mosquitoesTsetse flyFlies and mosquitoesCommon fruit flyFlies and mosquitoesAsian tiger mosquitoFlies and mosquitoes

Also at home here: Houses and farms

Indian red scorpionScorpions, ticks and friendsBlack lace-weaverSpidersBlue-eyed ensign waspWasps and hornetsConfused flour beetleBeetlesRed flour beetleBeetlesAustralian cockroachCockroaches and termites