Species group · Insects
Flies
WAnimals has 15 species of fly, spread across 15 families (Aleyrodidae, Asilidae, Bombyliidae, Calliphoridae, Cecidomyiidae, Drosophilidae, Glossinidae, Muscidae, Oestridae, Sarcophagidae, Simuliidae, Stratiomyidae, Syrphidae, Tenthredinidae, Tephritidae).
- 15 species
- 15 families
- 167 countries
- 148 parks
- Length
- 0.2 cm – 35 cm
- Lifespan
- 3 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 15.
All 15 species of flies on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Tsetse Fly
Glossina morsitans
Dark-edged Bee-fly
Bombylius major
House-fly
Musca domestica
Marmalade Hoverfly
Episyrphus balteatus
Mediterranean Fruit Fly
Ceratitis capitata
European Flesh Fly
Sarcophaga carnaria
Black Fly
Simulium erythrocephalum
Hessian Fly
Mayetiola destructor
Black Soldier Fly
Hermetia illucens
Torsalo
Dermatobia hominis
Pomace Fly
Drosophila melanogaster
Sheep-strike Greenbottle
Lucilia sericata
Glasshouse Whitefly
Trialeurodes vaporariorum
Hornet Robberfly
Asilus crabroniformis
Figwort Sawfly
Tenthredo scrophulariae
Conservation status
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
See the global conservation statusWhere 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 Tsetse Fly
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 Tsetse Fly
That strategy gives it a very low fecundity — between eight and ten offspring in a lifetime, against the hundreds of a mosquito — and that is precisely what makes it vulnerable to population control.
From Tsetse Fly
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 Dark-edged Bee-fly
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 Dark-edged Bee-fly
Its hovering flight, with the legs dangling and the wings almost invisible, is one of the most recognisable sights of early spring.
From Dark-edged Bee-fly
Its whole cycle from egg to adult can take only 7 to 10 days in ideal conditions.
From House-fly
It feeds by suction and cannot take in solid food.
From House-fly