Flies

All 15 species of flies on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 167 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• It carries sleeping sickness; the female gives birth to fully developed larvae, one at a time.

  From

• It is viviparous: it lays no eggs but gestates a single larva inside the uterus and feeds it on a milky secretion produced by a specialised gland, with proteins analogous to those of mammalian milk.

  From

• That strategy gives it a very low fecundity — between eight and ten offspring in a lifetime, compared with a mosquito's hundreds — and that is precisely what makes it vulnerable to population control.

  From

• It is a kleptoparasite: in mid-flight it flicks its eggs towards the entrances of solitary bee nests, and the larvae that hatch devour the provisions and the bee's own larva.

  From

• Its proboscis is rigid and cannot be folded away, so it carries it out in front like a lance, although it is completely harmless and does not sting.

  From

• Its hovering flight, with the legs dangling and the wings almost invisible, is one of the most recognisable sights of early spring.

  From

• Its whole cycle from egg to adult can take only 7 to 10 days in ideal conditions.

Ecosystems