Flies
The Diptera — pollinators, parasites, decomposers, and the world's most underrated bug order.
43 on file
Human Botfly
Doesn't bite you. Hires the mosquito to deliver its eggs. Hatches under your skin.
New Zealand Glow-Worm
Not a worm. Hangs glowing fishing-lines from cave ceilings. Catches insects on glue.
Yellow Fever Mosquito
Deadliest animal in human history. Has killed more people than every war combined.
Common Fruit Fly
The most-studied animal in scientific history. Six Nobel Prizes ride on her shoulders.
Marmalade Hover Fly
Looks like a wasp. Can't sting. Pollinates your garden. Larvae eat aphids by the thousand.
Tsetse Fly
Reshaped the map of Africa. Gives birth to single larvae. Carries sleeping sickness.
Carrot Rust Fly
Major NA/European carrot pest. Diagnostic rust-colored tunnels through carrot taproots. Detoxifies Apiaceae furanocoumarins.
Cherry Fruit Fly
Major NA cherry pest. Sister to apple maggot fly. The proverbial 'WORM IN THE CHERRY'.
Ant-Decapitating Fly
Tiny parasitoid fly. Larva DECAPITATES fire ants by consuming brain and pupating in detached ant HEAD.
Cabbage Maggot Fly
Major NA/European cruciferous crop pest. Maggots burrow into cabbage roots. Detoxifies plant glucosinolates.
Onion Maggot Fly
Major NA/European onion pest. Larvae detoxify the SULFUR COMPOUNDS that make onions burn human eyes.
Bat Fly
EXCLUSIVE bat parasite. Lives entire adult life on bat bodies. Spider-like flightless flies.
Spotted-Wing Drosophila
Major invasive soft-fruit pest. Lays eggs INSIDE firm ripe intact fruits using SERRATED ovipositor.
Mediterranean Fruit Fly
Most economically destructive global fruit pest. Attacks 250+ plant species. Hundreds of millions in CA control costs.
Hanging Thief Robber Fly
Aerial predator that HANGS from a single front leg while consuming prey. Catches bees, wasps, dragonflies in mid-air.
Olive Fruit Fly
Single most important pest of olive production worldwide. Major Mediterranean economic threat.
Apple Maggot Fly
Foundational SYMPATRIC SPECIATION case study. Two host races shifting from hawthorn to apple since the 1860s.
Black Soldier Fly
Larvae are the foundation of MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR global insect-protein industry. Bioconverts waste into feed.
Hessian Fly
Major wheat pest. Brought to NA in 1776 by Hessian mercenaries. Foundational gene-for-gene coevolution model.
Marmalade Hoverfly
4 BILLION migrate across Britain annually. Largest insect migration on Earth. Pollen mass ~80M tons.
Giant Tachinid Fly
8,200+ species, all parasitoids of other arthropods. Free natural pest control.
Cattle Warble Fly (Heel Fly)
Larvae burrow into cattle legs, migrate ALONG THE SPINAL CORD, and exit from 'warbles' on the back.
Face Fly
Cattle face-feeder. Vector of cattle pinkeye. Overwinters in rural attics by the thousands.
Large Bee Fly
Fly that mimics a bumblebee. FLICKS her eggs into bee burrows from above. Long hovering proboscis.
Cluster Fly
Larvae burrow INTO living earthworms. Adults form thousands-strong winter aggregations in attics.
Common Flesh Fly
Doesn't lay eggs — gives birth to LIVE LARVAE directly. Beats blow flies to fresh carcasses.
Green Bottle Fly
FDA-approved for medical maggot therapy. Eats dead tissue, kills MRSA, stimulates healing.
Horse Bot Fly
Lays eggs on horse's front legs. Horse licks. Larvae develop in mouth, then attach to stomach wall for 10 months.
Stalk-Eyed Fly
Eyes on the ends of long lateral stalks. Males face off and compare eye-stalk length to settle disputes.
Elephant Mosquito
Largest mosquito on Earth. Adults DON'T bite. Larvae eat 200+ Aedes mosquito larvae each. Used as biocontrol.
Dark-Winged Fungus Gnat
The houseplant pest. NZ cousin glows in caves to attract prey. Major greenhouse vector.
Asian Tiger Mosquito
Globally invasive via the used-tire trade. Vectors dengue, Zika, chikungunya into temperate climates.
Blue Bottle Fly
Forensic entomology centerpiece. Larvae used as medical maggot therapy. Vomits to digest food.
New World Screwworm Fly
Larvae eat living flesh. Eradicated from US by sterile-male flooding in 1966. Foundational pest control success.
Yellow Fever Mosquito
Vector of yellow fever, dengue, Zika, chikungunya. Day biter. Breeds in a bottle cap of water.
Anopheles Mosquito (Malaria Vector)
Sole vector of human malaria. Kills 600,000 a year. Most deadly animal on Earth, by impact.
Black Fly (Buffalo Gnat)
Bites livestock and humans in clouds. African subgroup vectors river blindness. Public-health success story.
Sand Fly
Tiny enough to slip through mosquito netting. Vector of leishmaniasis. Affects 12 million people.
Crane Fly
Third major 'daddy long legs.' Actually a fly. Larva is a turf pest. Adult cannot eat.
Drone Fly
Bee-mimic hoverfly. Larva is the 'rat-tailed maggot' that breathes through a 5x body-length snorkel.
Horse Fly
Slices the skin with scissor-mandibles. Eyes glow rainbow-iridescent. Most painful fly bite on Earth.
House Fly
Vomits on your food to dissolve it. Carries 100+ pathogens. Sees movement 10x faster than you do.
Robber Fly
Aerial ambush predator. Takes bees, wasps, even hummingbirds. Paralyzes prey midair.