Introduction

The house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus, is a well-known cosmopolitan pest of both farm

and home. This species is always found in association with humans or activities of humans. It
is the most common species found on hog and poultry farms, horse stables and ranches. Not
only are house flies a nuisance, but they can also transport disease-causing organisms.
Excessive fly populations are not only an irritant to farm workers but, when there are nearby
human habitations, a public health problem could occur.

 adult

Distribution

This common fly originated on the steppes of central Asia, but now occurs on all inhabited
continents, in all climates from tropical to temperate, and in a variety of environments
ranging from rural to urban. It is commonly associated with animal feces, but has adapted
well to feeding on garbage, so it is abundant almost anywhere people live.

Life Cycle and Description

The house fly has a complete metamorphosis with distinct egg, larva or maggot, pupal and
adult stages. The house fly overwinters in either the larval or pupal stage under manure piles
or in other protected locations. Warm summer conditions are generally optimum for the
development of the house fly, and it can complete its life cycle in as little as seven to ten
days. However, under suboptimal conditions the life cycle may require up to two months. As
many as 10 to 12 generations may occur annually in temperate regions, while more than 20
generations may occur in subtropical and tropical regions.

 life cycle

Egg: The white egg, about 1.2 mm in length, is laid singly but eggs are piled in
small groups. Each female fly can lay up to 500 eggs in several batches of 75 to
150 eggs over a three to four day period. The number of eggs produced is a
function of female size which, itself, is principally a result of larval nutrition.
Maximum egg production occurs at intermediate temperatures, 25 to 30°C. Often,
several flies will deposit their eggs in close proximity, leading to large masses of
larvae and pupae. Eggs must remain moist or they will not hatch.

 eggs
Larva: Early instar larvae are 3 to 9 mm long, typical creamy whitish in color,
cylindrical but tapering toward the head. The head contains one pair of dark hooks.
The posterior spiracles are slightly raised and the spiracular openings are sinuous
slits which are completely surrounded by an oval black border. The legless maggot
emerges from the egg in warm weather within eight to 20 hours, and immediately
feeds on and develop in the material in which the egg was laid.

The larva goes through three instars and a full-grown maggot, 7 to 12 mm long,
has a greasy, cream-colored appearance. High-moisture manure favors the survival
of the house fly larva. The optimal temperature for larval development is 35 to
38°C, though larval survival is greatest at 17 to 32°C. Larvae complete their
development in four to 13 days at optimal temperatures, but require 14 to 30 days
at temperatures of 12 to 17°C.

Nutrient-rich substrates such as animal manure provide an excellent developmental

substrate. Very little manure is needed for larval development, and sand or soil
containing small amounts of degraded manure allows for successful belowground
development. When the maggot is full-grown, it can crawl up to 50 feet to a dried,
cool place near breeding material and transform to the pupal stage.

Pupa: The pupal stage, about 8 mm long, is passed in a pupal case formed from
the last larval skin which varies in color from yellow, red, brown, to black as the
pupa ages. The shape of the pupa is quite different from the larva, being bluntly
rounded at both ends. Pupae complete their development in two to six days at 32 to
37°C, but require 17 to 27 days at about 14°C). The emerging fly escapes from the
pupal case through the use of an alternately swelling and shrinking sac, called the
ptilinum, on the front of its head which it uses like a pneumatic hammer to break
throug the case.

 pupation cycle
Adult: The house fly is 6 to 7 mm long, with the female usually larger than the
male. The female and can be distinguished from the male by the relatively wide
space between the eyes (in males, the eyes almost touch). The head of the adult fly
has reddish-eyes and sponging mouthparts. The thorax bears four narrow black
stripes and there is a sharp upward bend in the fourth longitudinal wing vein. The
abdomen is gray or yellowish with dark midline and irregular dark markings on the
sides. The underside of the male is yellowish.

 adult

 adult head

The house fly is often confused with the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Linnaeus),
and the false stable fly, Muscina stabulans (Germar). All three are in the same
family.

 house and stable fly comparison (dorsal view)

 house and stable fly comparison (ventral view)

Adults usually live 15 to 25 days, but may live up to two months. Without food,
they survive only about two to three days. Longevity is enhanced by availability of
suitable food, especially sugar. Access to animal manure does not lengthen adult
life and they live longer at cooler temperatures. They require food before they will
copulate, and copulation is completed in as few as two minutes or as long as 15
minutes. Oviposition commences four to 20 days after copulation. Female flies
need access to suitable food (protein) to allow them to produce eggs, and manure
alone is not adequate. The potential reproductive capacity of flies is tremendous,
but fortunately can never be realized. Scientists have calculated that a pair of flies
beginning reproduction in April may be progenitors, under optiminal conditions
and if all were to live, of 191,010,000,000,000,000,000 flies by August.

Longevity is enhanced by availability of suitable food, especially sugar. Access to

animal manure does not lengthen adult life and they live longer at cooler
temperatures. They require food before they will copulate, and copulation is
completed in as few as two minutes or as long as 15 minutes. Oviposition
commences 4-20 days after copulation. Female flies need access to suitable food
(protein) to allow them to produce eggs, and manure alone is not adequate.

The flies are inactive at night, with ceilings, beams and overhead wires within
buildings, trees, and shrubs, various kinds of outdoor wires, and grasses reported as
overnight resting sites. In poultry ranches, the nighttime, outdoor aggregations of
flies are found mainly in the branches, and shrubs, whereas almost all of the indoor
populations generally aggregated in the ceiling area of poultry houses.

According to a study conducted in Texas, USA, breeding site suitability (in

descending order), was horse manure, human excrement, cow manure, fermenting
vegetable, and kitchen waste. However, another study found that structures
containing swine, horse, sheep, cattle, and poultry varied in fly abundance, with
swine facilities containing the most and poultry the least. Fruit and vegetable cull
piles, partially incinerated garbage, and incompletely composted manure also are
highly favored sites for breeding.
 Life Cycle of a Silk Moth

Silk is used to make fabric and clothing.

Silk moths are insects of the order Lepidoptera, which includes butterflies and moths. The life
cycle of the silk moth has several stages from egg to adult moth over a period of about six to
eight weeks. The egg hatches into a caterpillar that sheds its skin several times before enclosing
itself in a cocoon made of silk filament. Inside the cocoon, it transforms from caterpillar to moth, a
process known as metamorphosis.

Background
1. The history of silk production in China dates back to more than 5,000 years BC. Today,
silk moths are raised commercially for their cocoons in China, Japan, India and Europe.
Hobbyists all over the world practice sericulture, or silkworm rearing, as well. Different species of
silk moths produce threads with different characteristics of color and texture. According to the
Silkroad Foundation, some species such as the Chinese silkworm, Bombyx mori, are entirely
domesticated and no longer found in the wild.

Eggs
2. Successful sericulture requires specific conditions for temperature, humidity and nutrition.
After the adult female silk moth lays her eggs, they must be maintained at a temperature of more
than 72 degrees Fahrenheit. They must not be allowed to dry out. According to hobbyist Michael
Cook, the ideal temperature range for the complete cycle is between 78 and 88 degrees
Fahrenheit. The eggs will begin to hatch about two weeks after being laid.

Larvae
3. Silkworms pass through five stages during the larval phase of their lives. These stages
are called "instars." The newly hatched larvae are silkworm caterpillars in the first instar. They
are very tiny. The Japanese call them "kego," which means "hairy baby." They can be fed either
commercially prepared food or fresh leaves. Bombyx mori eat the leaves of mulberry trees. As
they grow and change, silkworms need to shed their outer skin every few days. This process is
called ecdysis. With each instar, they are larger and more voracious. The caterpillars reach the
fifth instar about five weeks after hatching. During this last instar, they are no longer eating to
 grow but instead producing the proteins for making silk. The protein accumulates in the larva's
thorax.

Pupae
4. Finally, the larva begins to spin a cocoon around itself. The cocoon will be about one inch
long. The silk thread is wound in one continuous line about 3,000 feet long when it is later
unwound from the cocoon. The silk moth changes from caterpillar to moth in about two weeks. If
allowed to hatch out of the cocoon, the continuous thread will be destroyed. Commercial
sericulture involves killing the pupae inside by baking the cocoons.

Imagoes
5. Adult silk moths are called imagoes. The domesticated Chinese silk moths have wings
but cannot fly. They have stubby white bodies with three sections: head, thorax and abdomen.
They do not have mouths and do not eat. Females are larger than males. Their function is to
mate and produce the next generation of silk moths. Once the eggs have been produced, the
adults die.

The Life Cycle of Silk Worms

By Bethney Foster, eHow Contributor

updated: August 18, 2009

The Life Cycle of Silk Worms

The silkworm is just one part of the life cycle of the silkworm moth. The life cycle of the moth is
dependent upon the changing seasons. In areas where summer, fall, spring and winter are
clearly discernible, the silkworm moth will reproduce only once annually. In warm climates where
the seasons are not discernible, silkworm moths reproduce continuously.
 Eggs
1. The female silkworm moth will lay many tiny eggs on mulberry leaves and from these
leaves hatches the silkworm or caterpillar. In areas where the seasons change, the moth will
generally lay the eggs in late summer or early fall, and the eggs will not hatch until spring.
Larva
2. The caterpillar or silkworm that emerges from the egg is only about an eighth of an inch
long and covered in hair. The caterpillar feeds on the mulberry leaves, going through four
separate molts as it matures toward the pupal stage. As it molts, the old skin is shed and a new,
larger one is grown. 

After the first molt, the silkworm loses its hairy exterior and remains smooth and soft throughout
this stage of its life.

Pupa
3. After the fourth molt in the larval stage, the caterpillar will spin a cocoon of silk thread
around itself. The cocoon is about the size of a cotton ball. Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar
becomes a pupa.

Silk
4. It is at this stage that the silk worm's life cycle ends if the cocoon is taken to make silk
thread. The process involves plunging the cocoon into boiling water to kill the pupa and dissolve
the glue that holds the cocoon together. The cocoon will be unwound, and the threads used to
weave cloth. 

If the pupa is allowed to continue its development, it will change from pupa to moth within the
cocoon and emerge as an adult about two to three weeks after going inside the cocoon.

Adult
5. The silkworm moth has creamy white wings with brown patterns across the front. Today,
there are no silkworm moths living naturally. In the four millennia since the silk industry began the
species has become so domesticated that it can barely fly, find it own food or defend itself from
predators.

Copulation between adult silkworm moths may last for several hours. Adult silkworm moths do
not eat or drink, but mate and die after the female has laid her eggs.