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Fly Facts & Worksheets

Flies, by an entomologists’ definition, is any species of insect classified under the order Diptera, known as true flies, which are described for having one pair of true wings.

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Flies, by an entomologists’ definition, is any species of insect classified under the order Diptera, known as true flies, which are described for having one pair of true wings. Ecologically, flies are essential parts of the food chain, although some cause the spread of serious diseases among humans.

See the fact file below for more information on the flies or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Fly worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

OVERVIEW

  • Flies can wander from one point to another by flying, but they also have the ability to walk and run, such as circling a piece of fruit to find sugar.
  • Dipterans have a wide distribution, wandering in tropical, temperate, and even subartic zones. The largest insects of the modern day are most likely the robber flies, reaching eight cm long.
  • Flies depend massively on sight in order to survive. Their compound eyes are made of thousands of individual lenses and are very sensitive to motion. Some species even have very accurate three-dimensional vision. A few flies, such as the Ormia ochracea, have highly-specialized hearing organs.
  • Their diet differs among species. The horse-fly and mosquitoes consume blood and nectar, while the housefly feeds on a semi-digested fluid made by mixing enzyme-rich saliva with its food.
  • In compound names having the term “fly” for members of the Diptera order, the name is usually written as two separate words, as in “crane fly”, though there are some exceptions to the rule, such as “sandfly”, “blackfly”, and “housefly”. For other insects under the same order, their names should be written as a single word, like “butterfly”, “scorpionfly”, etc.

CLASSIFICATION

  • There are two widely recognized suborders of Diptera. The Nematocera are usually distinguished for their long bodies and feathery antennae as seen in mosquitoes and crane flies. The Brachycera, on the other hand, tend to possess a more roundly proportioned body and very short antennae. In some taxonomic schemes, the Nematocera are grouped into 77 families, having 35 extinct species, and the Brachycera into 141 families, of which eight reached extinction. A more recent study suggests that the Nematocera is split into two suborders, the Archidiptera and the Eudiptera; however, this has not yet been generally accepted by some dipterists.
  • Suborder Nematocera: long antennae, unique pronotum compared to its mesonotum. Their larvae are either eucephalic or hemicephalic and often thrives in aquatic ecosystems.
  • Suborder Brachycera: short antennae, the pupa develops inside a puparium formed from the last larval skin. They are typically robust flies with larvae having reduced mouth organs. This suborder is divided into three infraorders: Tabanomorpha and Asilomorpha have short antenna, but differ in structure from the Muscomorpha, those that have three-segmented antennae with bristles and larvae with three instars that are maggots, or also called acephalic.
  • Most of the Muscomorpha are further split into the Acalyptratae and Calyptratae, based on their possession of a wing flap that stretches over the halteres.

LIFE CYCLE

  • While complex, each fly species observe the same pattern in their life cycle with four different phases: egg, larva or also known as a maggot, pupa, and adult.
  • The span of fly life cycles, from egg to adult, differ across species and with environmental conditions, including temperature and food. For instance, the life cycle of a house fly reaches seven to ten days in warm climates. For the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), the shortest development time of their life cycle is completed at 28°C, while it takes 11 days at 30°C, 19 days at 18°C, and over 50 days at 12°C.
  • Different species also have their own distinct characteristics in relation to mating and laying eggs. Fly eggs may be laid in rotten flesh, animal dung, manure, or bodies of stagnant water – generally circumstances that provide sufficient amounts of food for the larva, commonly found in areas with high moisture. This can include both meat in trash compactors and dead rats found between the ceiling and the floor of a residential dwelling.
  • Once eggs hatch, the fly enters the maggot phase. It starts to consume whatever the egg was laid on, such as decomposing flesh. It then greedily eats food until it is prepared to enter the pupal stage, at which point the maggot leaves its food source in search of a moist spot. During the pupal phase, it undergoes metamorphosis before turning into an adult.

IMPORTANCE OF MAGGOTS

  • Maggots play several essential roles in the ecosystem and even for humans. They are important in food chains, acting as food for a wide number of animals, and are also well-known for being decomposers. They also serve as bait for fishing and as food for reptiles or birds kept as pets.
  • Maggots of some fly species have also been part of the medical field as they were used for healing wounds, both during the ancient times and the present. By feeding on dead skin cells and bacteria, maggots added on a wound of a human or animal can help clean out dead tissue and expedite healing.
  • Maggots, however, pose negative impacts to animals and agricultural crops. Some species burrow into the skin after being introduced to a wound and can even cause damage, such as an infection on animals called Myasis. Other maggot species plague crop production, including root maggots in rapeseed and midge maggots in wheat. Some species are also notorious for being leaf miners.

FLIES IN MYTHOLOGY, RELIGION, AND CULTURE

  • In traditional Navajo religion, Big Fly is considered a significant deity.
  • In the Hebrew language, the name Beelzebub, or another name for Satan, is named Lord of the Flies.
  • In Greek Mythology, Myiagros was a god who repelled flies during the sacrifices to Zeus and Athena. Moreover, Zeus ordered a fly to sting the horse Pegasus, resulting to Bellerohpon’s return to Earth when he tried to ride to Mount Olympus.
  • In art, life-like flies have sometimes been used in the trompe l’oeil paintings of the 15th century, such as the Portrait of a Carthusian by Petrus Christus, displaying a fly sitting on a fake frame.

Fly Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the fly across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Fly worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the flies, by an entomologists’ definition, which is any species of insect classified under the order Diptera, known as true flies, which are described for having one pair of true wings. Ecologically, flies are essential parts of the food chain, although some cause the spread of serious diseases among humans.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Fly Facts
  • Fly Overview
  • Fly Species
  • Label a Housefly
  • Test Yourself
  • Flying Facts
  • Stages of Life
  • Fly-like Insects
  • Wiki-fly-dia
  • Flies and Humans
  • Fly Control

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Link will appear as Fly Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 19, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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