How Do Flies Give Live Birth?
WouterFly researchers have long wondered how they give birth. A female pigeon louse fly invests a great deal of energy in developing her pupa. This pupa can weigh more than the mother fly itself! And that’s with the pupa’s shell on! The pupa will soon leave the female fly to find a new host.
Flies live for about 15 to 30 days. They undergo four stages in their life cycle: adulthood, pupae, and larvae. The first stage of their life cycle is mating. Female flies lay eggs after mating with a male fly. The male then fertilizes the eggs. Female flies lay their eggs in warm, moist places and on decaying organic matter. A female fly can lay upwards of five hundred eggs during her lifetime.
Most flies don’t lay eggs directly on humans, but instead lay them on other insects and objects. These flies’ larvae then hatch and burrow into the host’s skin to grow. In a similar way to mammals, a fly’s milk contains proteins that provide the larvae with nourishment. In addition to these proteins, a fly’s milk contains beneficial bacteria that helps her offspring survive and reproduce.
While flies are generally harmless, some people worry that they may carry viruses, bacteria, or parasites, which could lead to illness. Fortunately, this is rare and unlikely to happen. Ingestion of a fly’s egg or larvae, however, may result in intestinal myiasis, an intestinal condition that may cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.
