What do different types of flies and their larvae eat? Facts about flies What to feed a house fly

Understanding what flies eat is one way to prevent them. Thanks to proper storage, food disposal, and cleaning areas where food is consumed or prepared can greatly reduce the likelihood of these pesky insects.

Flies are an important group of insects x and have a significant impact on environment. Some species, such as leafminers, fruit flies Tephritidae and Drosophilidae, and gall midges (Cecidomyiidae) are pests of agricultural crops; others such as the tsetse fly, the blowfly and the botfly attack livestock, transmitting diseases that create significant economic losses.

Some species, such as drain flies (Psychodidae), affect human health by participating as vectors of major tropical diseases: midges cause river blindness, sand flies cause leishmaniasis. These insects are a nuisance to humans, especially when present in large quantities; they contaminate food and spread foodborne illnesses.

Who are flies and what do they eat?

Flies are insects from the order Diptera(diptera). The name of the order comes from the Greek δι- di two and πτερόν pterion wings. Insects of this order use only one pair of wings to fly, and the hind wings have been transformed into organs that act as high-speed sensors rotational movement and allow two-winged flies to perform complex aerobatic maneuvers.

Flies have a movable head with a pair of large compound eyes and mouthparts that perform piercing, cutting, licking and sucking functions. Their wings give them great maneuverability in flight, and their claws and foot pads allow them to cling to smooth surfaces. These insects undergo complete metamorphosis; the eggs are laid on a larval food source, and the larvae, which lack limbs, develop in a protected environment, often in their food source. A pupa is a hard capsule from which an adult emerges.

These insects are capable of laying eggs within any decaying biological material. The rate at which the larvae reach the individual adult state, in turn becoming capable of reproducing individuals, is approximately ten days.

Habitat

These insects are found on almost all continents except Antarctica. More than 150,000 species have been officially described, but the actual species diversity is much greater.

Flies have a significant ecological significance. They are important pollinators, as they were among the first pollinators responsible for the early pollination of plants. These insects are the second largest group of pollinators after Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, etc.). In humid and cold regions of the Earth, they, as pollinators, are much more important than bees, since compared to bees, they need less food, since they do not need to feed their larvae.

But these insects also cause harm, especially in some parts of the world where they are found in large quantities. Large species, such as tsetse flies, cause significant economic damage to cattle.

The food spectrum of these insects is very wide. and varies from species to species. Their diet includes nectar and rotting corpses, fruits and feces, fresh blood and dried bread.

Like other insects, they have chemoreceptors that detect smell and taste, and receptors that respond to touch. The third segment of the antennae and maxillary corpuscles carry the main olfactory receptors, and taste buds are found in the lips, throat, legs, wings and female genital organs, allowing flies to taste their food by walking on it. Taste receptors in females at the tip of the abdomen receive information about the suitability of the site for ovipositor.

Blood-feeding flies have special sensory structures that can detect infrared radiation, and use them on the body of their owners. Many blood-sucking species may show increased concentration carbon dioxide, which occurs near large animals. Species that feed on the blood of vertebrates can transmit some diseases.

What do larvae eat?

What do species that live near humans eat?

Flies are most active when it's warm. They are attracted to human habitation because of the warmth and smells emanating from there.

Adults feed and lay their eggs on organic decayable material which includes: fruits, vegetables, meat, animals, plant excretions and human feces. Both males and females also feed on nectar from flowers.

House flies

These insects eat all human food and human feces. They only feed on liquids, so they are able to convert solid foods into liquid using enzymes in their saliva. They are attracted various substances, such as:

• overripe fruits and vegetables;
• human and animal feces;
• sweet substances.

Domesticated species are generally limited to human habitats, but these insects can fly several kilometers from where they were born. They are active only during the daytime.

Fruit flies

Fruit flies, or fruit flies as they are also called, are attracted to fermented foods and liquids, which is why they are so common in homes and food processing plants. Fruit flies look for foods such as:

• liquids: beer, wine, cider, vinegar;
• fruits such as: fruits, vegetables;
• sweet products.

Small fruit flies can be carriers of various diseases.

Carrion flies

This name includes several species and representatives of which are quite large insects with a metallic blue, green, bronze or black sheen. They are usually the first insects to appear after the animal dies. These flies prefer fresh or rotten meat, animal corpses and feces.

Who eats flies

These insects are food for other animals at all stages of their development. The eggs and larvae are eaten by other insects, and some vertebrates specialize in feeding on flies. This:

Most of them consume flies as part of a mixed diet.

Pesky insects that people often encounter are flies. Not only are they annoying, but they are also carriers of various microbes and diseases. This is due to the fact that these insects feed decomposition products, go to different infected places, love manure and other waste. And after that they climb through food, clean linen, and dishes. At the same time, pathogenic bacteria may already be present on their paws, which can cause some diseases in the human body, if together with contaminated food or utensils they enter the body.

Where they come from - depends on the type of fly

Not all flies eat the same food. Although they are not particularly picky, some varieties still have a particular preference for one or another type of food. For example, there are those that love to eat meat oh, and others - sweet, third - sour. And some feed exclusively on rotting products. Therefore, you should first figure out what the names and looks of certain individuals that are greedy for meat, lard, or fruits. Winged insects are of the following types:

• Drosophila. They love fruits, especially rotten ones. They reproduce very quickly. They are dangerous because they lay their eggs in food.
• Housefly. Lives almost all the time in residential or non-residential premises, because in wildlife you almost never see them. They are distinguished by their quick response and are very difficult to catch by hand. Mostly eats what people eat.
• Meat. Their subspecies are all over the world it is estimated 2000, and in Russia about 300. Favorite treats are lard, meat of animals, fish and insects. Outwardly, it is distinguished by a black-gray body and head with large red eyes.
• Ilnitsa. Its larvae are dangerous carriers coli and other infectious diseases.
• Carrion. Very often appears in dirty places, as well as where there is decomposition of organic matter. They are dangerous carriers of all kinds of diseases.
• Sirfida. Very similar in appearance on aspen trees- with brown-yellow transparent wings and a black-yellow striped abdomen, but they do not have a sting. Unlike other individuals, it also eats aphids or flower nectar. The only way to bother people is by attacking for sweet fruits or berries.
• Fruits(they are also called “sours”). Small midges, which always appear in the house when something is turning sour. Mainly in summer, spring or autumn, when it gets warm.

In general, the total number registered 75 species of the fly order. Some of them may even bite when a cold cyclone or autumn approaches. The total lifespan of these winged creatures lasts about 1 or 1.5 months. The length of the body varies. Depending on the variety. So, meat individuals can reach up to 2 cm, and acids are up to several millimeters in length. Because of their large eyes, they are considered to have excellent vision compared to other insects.

What do flies eat?

If we say that flies are omnivores, we will not be mistaken. This is indeed true. They are not picky about any type of food, if it is of organic origin. But most of all they are attracted by strong odors, including decomposition products, rotting and spoiled food. These insects do not have any teeth, but have a long proboscis-tongue, which is divided into two tubes. They suck out food through this tongue, so soft food is most acceptable to them. However, to taste food, they first taste it through receptors that are located on their paws.

The paws have claws, and under the claws there are structures called pads that have an adhesive surface. Exactly for these sticky pads attract all sorts of germs and bacteria. However, these winged creatures moisten hard food with saliva and only then eat the softened food. Most of all they like it the following types food:

• juices, compotes, lemonades, syrups;
• jam or jams;
• tea and sugar;
• any leftover food on the plates;
• meat and fish;
• dairy, cheeses and more.

From fruits, vegetables and berries these insects will not refuse either. They especially like rotten or overripe fruits or berries. They very often also love graze near a trash can or chute. However, some of their species are especially preferred drainage pits or toilets. In any case, as soon as you notice these guests in your home, measures should be taken to destroy them or scaring away.

How a fly eats - macro photography:

MKOUSOSH No. 18 Rettikhovka village, Primorsky Territory

Introduction……………………………………………………. 3

Chapter 1. Survey results…………………….. 4

2.1 Who are flies?................................................. .. 5

2.2 What types of flies are there and what do they eat?..... 5

2.3 Flies: benefits and harm…………………………. 6

Results……………………………………………………8

Conclusions……………………………………………. 8

List of sources used……………… 9

Introduction

I live in a small village. In summer and autumn, many flies fly into our house, which we try our best to get rid of. They can sit on food and climb walls and ceilings. And so I thought - what do flies eat?

Purpose of the study: to find out what flies eat.

The object of interest is flies.

Subject of research: feeding of flies.

Research objectives:

1. Find out who flies are.

2. Study what types of flies there are and what they eat.

3. Learn about the benefits and harms of flies.

Hypothesis: I think flies eat sweets.

Research methods:

Working with literature (encyclopedias, fiction)

Working on the Internet;

Observation;

The practical significance of the work is to better know the creatures of nature around us.

Chapter 1. Survey. Survey results.

First I decided to find out if my friends knew what flies eat. And this is what happened:

8 people said they don’t know what flies eat;

1- believes that flies feed on dirt;

1 person thinks that flies eat small insects;

1-flies eat rotten food.

A total of 11 people were interviewed.

So, most of my friends don't know what flies eat. Here's what I managed to find out...

2.1 Who are flies?

Fly is a common name for dipterous insects belonging to the family of true flies that live almost all over the Earth. The body (2-15 mm long) is dark, less often yellow or with a metallic sheen (blue or green), covered with hairs and setae. About 5000 species are known. Widely distributed in all parts of the world.

The oldest fly was found in China, in sediments 145 million years old. This fly, whose length was one centimeter, judging by the structure of its jaws, could collect nectar from plants.

The buzz of a flying fly is created by its wings. They can make over 300 swings per second!

2.2 What types of flies are there and what do they eat?

Horseflies. On a summer day, a cow is bitten by horseflies 3-500 times and loses up to 1 liter of blood. Horseflies are large flies that feed on the blood of animals and humans, with a strongly transverse head and large, iridescent eyes, and a flat abdomen. The body is without setae, colored grayish-brown, usually with dark spots; tarsi with three suckers. They are especially abundant in places with ponds and thickets of plants.

Pushers. Although tuskers resemble large mosquitoes with long proboscises, they do not bite and are not interested in human blood. It seems that the round, disproportionately small head of these flies does not at all suit the powerful body with long legs. Pusher eats small flies, and snack on nectar.

Greenbacks. Small flies with a greenish metallic sheen or just gray. There are over 3500 species in the family. They live in the tropics and in Europe in damp meadows and along river banks. These predators attack midges, mosquitoes, mosquito larvae and other living creatures that are caught on the surface of the water or in the meadow.

Stilts. These flies cannot be confused with others - they have thin, elongated bodies and elongated legs. From a distance it looks like flies are walking on stilts. Walking through the leaves on their long legs, they look for food - dead insects. Bending down and spreading their legs to the sides, flies suck out the dead insects they find, for example, aphids, lacewings.

The cherry fly is brown-black with a yellow head and shield, the legs, with the exception of the thighs, are also yellow. Females lay eggs under the skin of ripening cherries, the larvae feed on the pulp of the fruit, causing them to rot and fall off.

Housefly. Flies are very voracious and more than an hour They usually cannot withstand hunger. Having discovered something edible, they immediately straighten it and apply their proboscis.

Flies do not need a lot of food and therefore will find enough food for themselves anywhere. Houseflies do not eat solid food because they have nothing to chew it with. The fly's mouth is only suitable for sucking up liquid food. The role of the tongue is played by a proboscis, reminiscent of an elephant's trunk. It is also divided into two at the end and these channels act as tubes through which liquid food is absorbed. Houseflies look for food everywhere, including garbage and sewage.

2.3 Flies: benefits and harm.

The common belief that houseflies bite before a thunderstorm is incorrect. It's just that in these cases, houseflies are confused with other types of flies, such as desert flies or dung flies. These flies are blood-sucking flies, and they bite people.

But, if house flies do not bite, why then are they considered so dangerous to humans? The fact is that the legs with pads and the body of flies are covered with protruding hairs, and their tongue is coated with sticky mucus. This means that dust and dirt are constantly sticking to the fly. And since houseflies look for food everywhere, including garbage and sewage, dirt and dust that stick to the fly may contain bacteria that cause various diseases, which move onto our food when a fly lands on it, and get inside along with the food human body. That is, by visiting landfills, garbage cans and other dirty places, the fly unwittingly becomes a carrier of diseases.

Making constant journeys from garbage dumps and all sorts of human waste to his home, a single fly carries about 6 million microbes! And this is only on yourself, and more than 25 million more inside yourself, in the intestines!

What diseases do flies carry? Dysentery and cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis, anthrax and diphtheria, polio and many others. Full list includes more than 30 diseases.

In addition, flies are very annoying insects.

Research results.

Based on the results of the research, I came to the following result.

The fly is a carrier of diseases, as it looks for food in landfills and sewage. In nature, some other animals feed on flies. Houseflies eat only liquid food because they cannot chew solid food. They look for food everywhere.

I realized that flies don't only eat sweets. And although flies are carriers of diseases and they are very annoying, they cannot be exterminated, because they play their role in living nature.

List of sources used.

http://medzona. *****

http://sbio. *****

Http://*****/muhi/o-muhah. html

http://www. *****

What flies eat depends on their species. The mouthparts are designed to suck in liquid food. However, pre-processed solid products are also used. The insect initially sprays a special substance that breaks down the mass, then calmly absorbs it. Larvae require protein food, this explains their presence on meat, fish, offal, and dairy products.

What do flies like?

At home, several live near a person. The most common, apartment. Synanthropic species not adapted to life in the wild, it feeds on almost everything that a person eats, as well as garbage, waste, and excrement.

The insect prefers liquid food because it is absorbed faster; pests love sweet dishes. They are attracted to products that show signs of rotting. There are also dishes that flies prefer, and those that are eaten if there is nothing better.

Favorite dishes:

• fruit, vegetable juice;
• jam;
• syrup;
• sugar;
• compote;
• lemonade;

Without much enthusiasm, but if necessary, he eats a fly:

• sausage;
• porridge;
• borsch;
• fermented milk products;
• mashed potatoes;
• candies;
• cakes;
• fruits;
• vegetables.

On a note!

Flies in the house feed on everything they can get their hands on. Initially, they absorb liquid foods, since less energy is spent on digesting such food, then they move on to solid ones. To be completely satisfied, adult Just drink a drop of juice and eat a bread crumb.

Food in the wild

Flies in nature feed on the juices of vegetables, fruits, plants, excrement, and food waste. Products must be either ripe or rotten.

By the end of summer, another type of fly appears in a person’s house -. They live most of their lives in the wild, but with the onset of cold nights, they move closer to civilization. Food is found either indoors or in the farm yard, sheds with animals.

This species prefers to feed on the blood of animals and humans. Unlike its domestic relative, its mouthparts end with sharp scales that gnaw through the skin. In addition to blood, burners eat food waste, excrement, fruit and vegetable juices.

Another type of fly that may end up in the house is. They are somewhat larger than their domestic relatives and have an attractive iridescent gray color. Blow flies feed on almost the same things, but also the juices of meat, fish, and mucus that forms on open wounds. Decaying mass also often becomes food for them.

Nutrition of larvae

Food preferences also depend on the species. - house dwellers eat the juices of rotten plants, vegetables, fruits, excrement, food waste. in a place where the larvae can immediately find food.

Blowfly larvae develop in meat, fish, and offal. They play a major role in the decomposition of corpses. They go through several stages of development, each time increasing in size. They grow rapidly, increasing in size from 1 mm to a centimeter in 3 days. They can live in damaged tissues of living animals, making numerous passages.

On a note!

Some species of blowfly larvae eat their own kind. By the time of appearance on corpses, experts determine the exact date death of an animal or person. The method is used in forensics.

How does a fly eat

The oral apparatus of this insect is an oblong tube; in blowflies, the so-called teeth are located at the end. With the help of the proboscis, the insect draws in food. If the food is hard, a special secretion is initially injected, which breaks down the food. There is no digestive apparatus as such. Digestion is carried out externally, the fly absorbs already processed food.

The larvae feed in the same way. The substance they secrete is a powerful antibiotic. This ensures their free existence along with a large colony of harmful microorganisms.

Who eats flies

In nature there are natural enemies among plants, animals, birds.

Flies are eaten by ground beetles, praying mantises, spiders, frogs, toads, birds, and dogs for entertainment purposes.