Musca autumnalis

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Musca autumnalis

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Subclass:	Pterygota
Infraclass:	Neoptera
Order:	Diptera
Suborder:	Brachycera
Section:	Schizophora
Subsection:	Calyptratae
Superfamily:	Muscoidea
Family:	Muscidae
Genus:	Musca
Species:	M. autumnalis

Binomial name

Musca autumnalis
De Geer, 1776

Musca autumnalis, the face fly or autumn house-fly, is a pest of cattle and horses

1 Description
2 Distribution
3 Life cycle
4 As a vector of disease

[edit] Description

The face fly is similar to the closely related house fly. Slightly larger, averaging about 7 - 8 mm long and Grey in colour with 4 dark stripes on the thorax, with a grey-black patterned abdomen. Like many true flies, in the males, the eyes almost touch when viewed from above.

[edit] Distribution

Musca autumnalis is widespread throughout Most of Europe, Central Asia and some parts of North Africa.

It has been introduced into North America around the 1940's, and now spread to cover from Southern Canada into most temperate parts of the United States

[edit] Life cycle

Adult flies will emerge from winter hibernation around March to early April. Daytime they feed on manure juices and plant sugars. On cattle and horses they feed on secretions of the facial orifices, around the eyes, mouth and nostrils. The adult flies will also feed on the hosts blood thought wounds such as Horse-fly bites. A larger proportion of face flies on the host will be females, as they have a higher need for protein provided by animal hosts. Night time both sexes will rest on vegetation

Females deposit eggs on fresh cow manure, and these hatch within hours post deposition. The yellowish white maggots feed on the microbial flora and fauna of the manure and pass though three larval stages (instars), growing to about 12 mm long. Then develop into a white pupa. Emerging as Adults approximately 10 to 20 days after egg deposit, dependant on temperature.

[edit] As a vector of disease

Musca autumnalis is considered a pest species, as it transmits eyeworm Thelazia rhodesi to cattle and horses, and Pinkeye (Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis) in Cattle.