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Latin Name: Phaenicia sericata
Common Name: Green Blow Fly
Latin Family Name: Calliphoridae
Other Names: Bottle flies
Pest Details
Origin:Several species that are native to North America, and widely spread throughout the continent and into Latin America.
Biology:
The blow flies are important decomposers of dead animals and other rotting organic material, such as decomposing plant material. They are the first insects to arrive at a newly deceased carcass and their larvae are frequently used in forensic science to determine facts about a crime scene. The maggots also have been used in “maggot therapy”, to eat dead tissue off the skin of victims of burns or wounds. Females may lay several hundred eggs on an appropriate larval food source, with development to the adult stage being completed in about one week in hot, humid conditions. The larvae leave the food and may squirm long distances to find a protected
Latin Name: Tabanus Sp.
Common Name: Horse Flies
Latin Family Name: Tabanidae
Other Names: Green heads, gad flies
Pest Details
Origin:A number of native species occur in North America, particularly in the more humid states where the moist conditions the larvae need are available year-round.
Biology:
Horse fly females are blood feeders, while the males feed on plant juices. The mouthparts of the female are scissors-like, and they slash open the skin, cause the blood to flow with their saliva, and lap up the blood. They are not incriminated as vectors of any specific diseases in North America, but are extremely annoying, have painful bites, and can be serious threats to the health of livestock or horses when they feed in large numbers. The larvae of many species are predators, living in moist soils, under wet leaf litter, or even in running water. They may live in the mud at the bottom of ponds
Latin Name: Musca domestica
Common Name: House Fly
Latin Family Name: Muscidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:This species is found abundantly throughout the world, and in many countries, where sanitation is not adequate and human wastes are commonly deposited outdoors, the House Fly is responsible for the spread of numerous serious diseases. Included in this list are dysentery, typhoid, cholera, poliomyelitis, yaws, anthrax, tularemia, intestinal parasites and eye parasites. It is incriminated in the spread of food infections from bacteria such as Shigella and Salmonella.
Biology:
The House Fly got its name from its common occurrence in homes, particularly during more rural times when horses and livestock were common around homes, and used as transportation. It breeds prolifically, with females laying from 350 to 900 eggs in their lifetime, with a record of 2,400 eggs from a single female
Latin Name: Culex sp.
Common Name: House Mosquitoes
Other Names: Northern house mosquito, Southern house mosquito
Pest Details
Origin:These may be native species in North America.
Biology:
This is a large genus of mosquitoes with at least 30 species in North America north of Mexico and over a thousand species worldwide. These two species are two of the most common mosquitoes in urban areas in the U.S. They also are two of the species most implicated in the spread of West Nile Virus as well as some other forms of encephalitis. The adults are nocturnal and the female deposits eggs on many types of water resources, including artificial containers, seasonal water areas, and other standing water such as ponds and marshes. Eggs are laid as a “raft” that contains a great many eggs and which floats on the surface of the water. Complete development from egg to adult may take as little as 7 days.
Identification:These are medium-sized
Latin Name: Fannia scalaris
Common Name: Latrine Fly
Other Names: Lesser house fly
Pest Details
Origin:Likely European in origin this species now occurs throughout the world.
Biology:
This species is closely related to Fannia canicularis, the Little House Fly, and has very similar habits. It is found worldwide and is often the more common of the two species. Adult males will hover for long periods, in a random back and forth manner, in shaded areas such as open garages, under patios or trees, etc. Females tend to rest on vegetation, and adult flies are attracted to nectar as well as honeydew from aphids, and may occur in large numbers near aphid-infested plants. Larvae feed within animal feces and often infest the accumulated materials in outhouses, thus their common name. They also infest pet droppings, bird feces, and even decomposing plant materials such as thick layers of mulch, piles of lawn clippings, and other damp resources.
Latin Name: Agromyzidae
Common Name: Leafminer Flies
Other Names: Chrysanthemum leaf miner fly
Pest Details
Origin:Native to Europe but now found worldwide in greenhouses where mums and other related flowers are grown.
Biology:
Most of the species of flies in this family have larvae that feed under the surface of leaf tissues, mining within that layer and often specific to a certain type of plant. Some kinds are important pests in greenhouses, such as on chrysanthemums, where their obvious tunneling makes the cut flowers unmarketable. Outdoors they may feed on other plants in the Aster family, such as gazania or calendula, but also on some weeds such as sowthistle. A complete generation from egg to adult may take only 4 weeks and multiple generations will occur within greenhouses each year.
Identification:Normally the presence of these flies is based on the damage to the leaves, showing as meandering
Latin Name: Sphaeroceridae
Common Name: Lesser Dung Flies
Latin Family Name: Sphaeroceridae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:A number of native species of these flies are found in North America.
Biology:
The sphaerocerid flies often breed in animal waste and other decaying materials, and may breed in very large numbers. Because of this association with excrement, including human waste, they pose a threat to human health.
Identification:The small dung flies have characteristic tarsi, which are the last five small segments of the legs before the claws. The first two segments of the tarsi are noticeably short and are much wider than the following three segments. In general the adult flies are only 4 or 5 mm long and a dull brown to black in color.
Characteristicts Important to Control:
An inspection to find the decaying organic material that supports the larvae is important, and elimination
Latin Name: Fannia canicularis
Common Name: Little House Fly
Latin Family Name: Muscidae
Other Names: Hover fly
Pest Details
Origin:Probably native to North America, but found in many other countries as well.
Biology:
This is one of several small flies in the genus Fannia, whose males tend to hover aimlessly and for long periods in shaded locations, such as patios, breezeways, open garages, or shaded garden areas. Larvae breed in any of the typical decaying organic matter situations that other filth flies do, such as animal feces, decomposing piles of lawn clippings, or filthy garbage containers. Adult flies feed on sugary materials, and honeydew accumulations on plants may draw them. The period from egg to adult averages about 3 weeks, and adult flies live from 2 to 3 weeks. The larvae tend to move to the surface of their food material, or wander away from it, just prior to pupation.
Identification:Latin Name: Anopheles sp.
Common Name: Malaria Mosquitoes
Latin Family Name: Culicidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:Approximately 16 species in North America, most considered native to the continent.
Biology:
The genus Anopheles is the primary vector of malaria throughout the world, feeding on both humans as well as other warm-blooded mammals. A. quadrimaculatus and A. freeborni are two of the principal species in the U.S. Preferred oviposition sites by females will be fresh, clear water in ponds or slow-moving creeks, with vegetation along the edges. Eggs are laid singly on the water surface, and each egg has floats on either side of it. Females lay around 250 eggs, and for these two important species the fertilized females are the over-wintering stage. They may emerge on warm winter days to feed, but wait until spring to lay eggs.
Identification:Adult females are distinct from other mosquitoes
Latin Name: Chironomidae
Common Name: Midges
Latin Family Name: Chironomidae
Other Names: Lake fly, blood worm (the larvae)
Pest Details
Origin:These are native insects in North America.
Biology:
These midges are very similar in appearance to mosquitoes, and most also have larvae that live in an aquatic habitat. Some species may also live in wet, decaying organic material under bark or in the soil. The larvae are scavengers and the adults are non-biting. The name “blood worm” is given to some species whose larvae are bright red in color.
Identification:The adult midges vary in size from less than ¼ inch to well over ½ inch in length, depending on the species. There are no visible mouthparts present. The color varies from light green to brown to very light tan. The body is slender and in particular the abdomen is long and cylindrical. The antennae are often extremely plumose and