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Eggs to Maggots 8 - 24 hours
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Maggots to pupa 4 - 5 days
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Pupa to Adult fly 2 - 7 days
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Adult flies normally live 1 - 3 months.
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In ideal conditions the complete metamorphosis cycle can be as short as 7 - 9 days.
There are many species of flies in New Zealand posing a threat to hygiene and a nuisance to humans and animals.
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Flies are vectors of a large number of diseases including gastroenteritis, dysentery, typhoid, polio, salmonella and tuberculosis.
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Some, such as sandflies, are a direct irritant, biting humans and sometimes causing painful reactions. Numerous bristles on the flies' legs pick up and distribute germ laden particles wherever they go from rotten animal waste to your sandwich. I
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In warmer climates, breeding continues throughout the year. Eggs are laid in moist decaying vegetable matter and animal waste. Flies spread disease to man and domesticated animals, as well as contaminating food.
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Adult flies fly allowing them mobility to visit many diverse habitats breeding and feeding in areas of unsanitary conditions. The likelihood of contamination of human food with pathogens has been demonstrated over the years by a number of experiments.
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In these, disease-causing agents have been found to survive on outside body surfaces of flies existing in the fly gut and blood system.
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Flies are fluid feeders and need to liquidise the food before they can suck it up. They do this by producing large quantities of saliva from their salivary glands then poured onto the food via the salivary canal of the mouth parts.
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While feeding the flies also frequently vomit some fore gut contents onto the food. During the feeding process, flies frequently defecate spreading pathogens from the hind gut of the fly onto food and food preparation areas.
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If the food on which the flies have been feeding and defecating is prepared for human consumption, human disease and food poisoning outbreaks can occur from a minute dose of pathogens.
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Flies are great travellers, up to 32km recorded.
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Flies are active by day, resting up by night.
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Maggots are cannibalistic and destroy large numbers of each other.
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Eggs and maggots, if swallowed, can cause intestinal injuries.
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Flies are a very important part of the food chain.
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Predators include wasps, spiders, birds, bats, frogs, fish and lizards.
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Prior to feeding, flies often vomit on to their food matter and trample it to dissolve tissue to a liquid before sucking up the resultant juices.
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Flies breathe through spiracles, small holes on either side of the body as they do not have lungs.
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Perspiring human skin quickly attracts flies.
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