Musca domestica

Adult houseflies have short antennae, a gray thorax with four darker longitudinal stripes, and a gray or yellow abdomen with a darker median line and irregular pale yellowish spot at the anterior lateral margins. The abdomen consists of 8 segments in males and 9 segments in females. In females, the first 5 segments are visible externally. The last 4 segments are normally retracted but they extend to make the ovipositor when the female lays her eggs. This allows females to bury the eggs several mm below the surface. Females are slightly larger than males. Like all flies ( Diptera ), houseflies have only one pair of wings. The second pair is reduced to halteres, which are used for balance. Their wings are translucent and fold back straight at rest. Houseflies are 4 to 8 mm long, and 6.35 mm long on average. Like many flies ( Diptera ), mouthparts of adults are sponge-like. Mouthparts are comprised of two fleshy, grooved lobes called the labella, which are attached to the lower lip, known as the labium. The lower surface of these lobes contains numerous transverse grooves that serve as liquid food channels. Houseflies can only intake food in liquid form. The mouthparts are suspended from the rostrum, which is a membranous projection of the lower part of the head. The larvae have mouth hooks used to filter-feed on masses of bacteria. Fully-grown larvae are 12 to 13 mm long and are a yellowish, white color. Their bodies are smooth and shiny. They have a pointed anterior end, a blunt posterior end, and two spiracles. A small patch of small spines lies ventrally between abdomen 1 and 7 but is absent on the thoracic segments.

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