Musca spp.

Muscidae sp. - Copyright Alan Hadley

Musca domestica - Joaquim Alves Gaspar, Lisboa, Portugal (Wikimedia Commons)

• Also known as 'house' and 'face' flies

• Includes Musca domestica the house fly and Musca autumnalis the face fly

• Found in temperate regions

• The house fly is present both inside and outside of buildings

• The face fly is one of the most numerous flies which annoy cattle
  • Attracted to the head and upper parts of the body

Recognition

• 7.5mm long

• Sponge-like labellum mouthparts

• Grey thorax with longitudinal stripes

• Yellow abdomen with a single black stripe

Life Cycle

• Eggs laid in rotting manure, hatch and pass through pupal and larval stages before emerging

• Eggs hatch within 12 hours of being deposited

• Life cycle takes 12 days

• Flies may overwinter as adults

Pathogenesis

• Production losses
  • Reduced weight gain
  • Reduced milk yield
  • Fly worry

• Disease transmission
  • Viruses
    • E.g. Coxsackie, enteroviruses, poliomyelitis
  • Bacteria
    • E.g. Anthrax, E.coli, Salmonella, Shigella, New Forest Eye Disease
  • Helminths
    • E.g. Intermediate hosts for Habronema in horses, some poultry tapeworms, Parafiliaria and Thelazia in cattle

• Feeds on secretions from the eyes, nose and mouth as well as blood left in wounds by other flies

Control

• Fly control in breeding and resting sites (to reduce the source)
  • Breeding sites
    • Good sanitation
    • Collect dung in heaps
    • Spray surface of heaps with insecticide to kill surviving adults and larvae
    • Biological control
  • Resting sites
    • Spray inside and outsides of buildings with insecticide

• Fly control on the host
  • Wide range of products available
  • Nil or short withdrawal period needed for milking animals or animals going for slaughter