Cover your food or else a housefly or a fruit fly would sit on it. We hear this and experience this all the time. Common houseflies and fruit flies have now become a part of our daily lives. Wherever we go, we can see them everywhere around us. Today, we will be talking about these miniature flies’ insects like pests that can become a danger to us as well.
In this write-up, we will tell you everything about house flies, their life cycle, what food they eat, how long do flies live without food, can they starve, what is their life span, and much more.
Not only common house flies have become a nuisance in the human settlement, but there are many other species of flies as well, which are the reason for the spread of many infections like fruit flies, filth flies, blowflies, etc.
However, our main focus would be common house flies and fruit flies for today. We all are aware of common houseflies. Some of us don’t know what fruit flies are. For them, if you have seen tiny lies buzzing around your food, then know those are known as fruit flies.
Life Cycle of flies: Wondering how long do flies live without food?
A fly’s life cycle is of four stages; egg, larva, pupa, and adult. As funny as it sounds, fly eggs can go through all four stages within six to forty-two days. However, there are certain restrictions, and temperature is one of them. In warm conditions, a lifespan of fly eggs can take up to a week or a month to develop into an adult fly, and in colder conditions, the process of life cycle to larval stage may take up to three months.
A female fly can lay more than 500 eggs during her lifetime in small batches. These eggs are laid on wet organic materials. Within a few hours of laying the eggs, these eggs start hatching.
As these fly eggs are hatched, the larva then enters into a feeding stage. Once the feeding stage is about to get over, the larva migrates to a drier place and forms a protective shell known as puparium – just like a caterpillar forms a cocoon to become a butterfly later. In this puparium, the fly then turns into an adult fly.
What foods do flies eat?
There is not one single answer to this question as flies eat almost everything – from human foods to excreta. Flies can even feed on sweat. Moreover, they can either suck liquid foods or readily soluble foods. First, they wet solid food and let it dissolve before they can suck it.
Another main component of a fly’s feed is water. Like every living being, these flies also need an ample amount of water to survive. Apart from these foods, they also feed on milk, broth, syrups, sugar, etc.
How long do flies live without food and water?
Food and water are essentials for every living thing, be it a mere fly. As mentioned above, water is a vital source of living potion for these tiny creatures. Without water, they can only survive forty-eight hours.
As far as food is concerned, an adult fly life can be of only two or three days without food. However, if they get suitable food like sugar, they can live longer. Moreover, colder temperatures also increase their life span and increase their chances of survival.
Do flies need oxygen to live, and how do they breathe?
Oxygen is vital for the lifespan of everyone who comes under the umbrella of a living thing. Likewise, flies are also living things, and they do need air to live. However, unlike humans, the lifespan of a fly can be for a couple of hours if a continuous supply of oxygen is not available.
Moreover, flies don’t have lungs like humans. They breathe through tiny holes in their body called spiracles. Spiracles are on a tube called the trachea that helps these flies with breathing.
What is the life span of a fly?
The life expectancy depends on the species of a fly. As we are talking about two species right now, both house fly and fruit flies have different life spans. A housefly’s life expectancy is no more than a month. On the other hand, a fruit fly can live up-to forty to fifty days You must be thinking, if flies have such a short life span, how come they are everywhere and not extinct yet. The reason is, both flies can lay more than 500 eggs during their short life span. They have seen over twenty generations by the time they die.
You must be thinking, if flies have such a short life span, how come they are everywhere and not extinct yet. The reason is, both flies can lay more than 500 eggs during their short life span. They have seen over twenty generations by the time they die.
Can a fly die due to starvation?
According to a study by Pierre-Yves Placais and Thomas Preat, if a fly is starving, they shut down their long-term memories to survive. It also affects their life span, as shutting down of long-term memory decreases a fly’s life to one-third.
