How Many Babies Do Flies Make?
WouterFlies have relatively short lifespans. They can live from 15 to 30 days and go through four stages during their life cycle. The first stage is the egg stage, during which a female flies lays her eggs. The male flies fertilize the eggs. The eggs are laid in warm, moist spaces, often on decaying organic matter. Female flies can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime. It takes about seven and a half hours for an egg to hatch.
Adult flies usually live for 15 to 25 days, but can survive up to two months without food. They also live longer at cooler temperatures. Adult flies also require food before copulating, which takes about two to 15 minutes. In addition, female flies need protein to survive, which is insufficient in manure.
Female flies lay about four to six batches of 75 to 100 eggs. The eggs hatch after 12 to 24 hours and are gray in color. After emerging from the pupa case, the fly pupae develop wings and legs. Flies lack teeth, so their larvae are hard. However, they do have a fluid-filled pouch on the head that they use to break through their pupa shells.
A recent study published in the journal BioEssays explores the reproductive strategy of tsetse flies. The tsetse flies produce one baby at a time, which is quite rare in insect species. In addition to their ability to produce offspring, tsetse flies also produce a larva that is about 100 percent the size of their mother.
