www.small-beings.org
www.small-beings.org
Die Stubenfliege (Musca domestica; lat. musca „Fliege“, domesticus „häuslich“), auch Gemeine Stubenfliege oder Große Stubenfliege (zur Unterscheidung von der Kleinen Stubenfliege), ist eine Fliege aus der Familie der Echten Fliegen (Muscidae).
Die Stubenfliege (Musca domestica) ist eine Fliegenart, die weltweit vorkommt, außer in Wüsten und polaren Gebieten. Ihr Körper hat eine graue Farbe und vier Längsstreifen auf dem Thorax. Die Fliegen haben leckend-saugende Mundwerkzeuge und legen ihre Eier in faulendem Material ab. Die Lebensdauer der Fliege beträgt 6 bis 70 Tage, abhängig von Temperatur und Nahrungsangebot. Die Stubenfliege kann leicht mit dem Wadenstecher verwechselt werden, der menschliches Blut saugt und Krankheiten übertragen kann.
The housefly (Musca domestica) is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It possibly originated in the Middle East, and spread around the world as a commensal of humans. It is the most common fly species found in houses. Adults are gray to black, with four dark, longitudinal lines on the thorax, slightly hairy bodies, and a single pair of membranous wings. They have red eyes, set farther apart in the slightly larger female. The female housefly usually mates only once and stores the sperm for later use. She lays batches of about 100 eggs on decaying organic matter such as food waste, carrion, or feces. These soon hatch into legless white larvae, known as maggots. After two to five days of development, these metamorphose into reddish-brown pupae, about 8 millimetres (3⁄8 inch) long. Adult flies normally live for two to four weeks, but can hibernate during the winter. The adults feed on a variety of liquid or semi-liquid substances, as well as solid materials which have been softened by their saliva. They can carry pathogens on their bodies and in their feces, contaminate food, and contribute to the transfer of food-borne illnesses, while, in numbers, they can be physically annoying. For these reasons, they are considered pests. Houseflies, with short life cycles and ease with which they can be maintained, have been found useful for laboratory research into aging and sex determination. Houseflies appear in literature from Ancient Greek myth and Aesop’s “The Impertinent Insect” onwards. Authors sometimes choose the housefly to speak of the brevity of life, as in William Blake’s 1794 poem “The Fly”, which deals with mortality subject to uncontrollable circumstances.
The housefly (Musca domestica) is a common insect with a wide distribution worldwide, found in populated areas across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia, and the Americas. Adult houseflies are 6 to 7 mm long, with females typically being larger than males. They have compound eyes, a retractable proboscis for a liquid diet, and chemoreceptors on their legs for tasting food. Houseflies are important in breaking down and recycling organic matter, although they can also be a nuisance and a health hazard due to their habits of contaminating food. They have predators and parasites, and are carriers of pathogens. However, housefly larvae can be used for converting waste into insect-based animal feed. Houseflies have cultural significance and have been used in traditional medicine and art.