Flies & Mosquitoes
Flies and mosquitoes are among the most consequential insects for the home and for human health. These guides cover mosquitoes, houseflies, and fruit flies, their biology, the risks they carry, and how to control them. (13 guides.)
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →What Is the Life Cycle of Fruit Flies? Egg to Adult in 8 DaysWhat Is the Life Cycle of Fruit Flies? Drosophila melanogaster moves from egg to breeding adult in as little as 8 days at 25°C, one of the fastest life cycles of any insect. That s
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →What Do Fruit Flies Eat? Fermenting Fruit and YeastWhat do fruit flies eat? Drosophila melanogaster feeds mainly on the yeast growing on rotting or fermenting fruit, not the fruit itself. The sugar draws them in, but yeast is what
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →Top 10 Facts About Fruit Flies: Genetics and Lab ScienceTop 10 Facts About Fruit Flies: the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster , is one of the most studied animals in science, not just a kitchen nuisance. It shows up wherever ban
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →What Are the Characteristics of Mosquitoes? Size to SwarmWhat are the characteristics of mosquitoes? Members of the family Culicidae, with roughly 3,500 described species living on every continent except Antarctica, share a few defining
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →How to Identify Mosquitoes by Antennae and MarkingsHow to Identify Mosquitoes starts with three body regions: head, thorax, and abdomen, plus a handful of features that separate the common species you'll actually run into around a
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →What Are the Characteristics of Houseflies? Stripes and SpeedWhat Are the Characteristics of Houseflies? Musca domestica is built around a short list of traits: a gray-to-black body about 4 to 7 millimeters (roughly 1/5 to 1/4 inch) long, fo
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →How to Identify Fruit Flies: Red Eyes, Tan-Black BodyHow to identify fruit flies comes down to three things: size, eye color, and where you find them. The common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster , is about 1/8 inch (3 mm) long with
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →Where Do Fruit Flies Live? Kitchens, Compost, OrchardsWhere do fruit flies live? Drosophila melanogaster and its relatives settle wherever sugar is fermenting: a bowl of overripe bananas, a compost bin, a drain trap coated in old juic
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →How Do Mosquitoes Contribute to the Ecosystem?How do mosquitoes contribute to the ecosystem when most people only notice the bite? Beyond malaria, dengue, and Zika transmission, mosquitoes function as a mid-tier food source, a
Flies & MosquitoesRead article →How Do Fruit Flies Contribute to the Ecosystem? Yeast to PreyHow Do Fruit Flies Contribute to the Ecosystem? Mostly by cleaning up rot before it becomes a bigger problem. Drosophila melanogaster , the species that swarms overripe bananas and