Muscidae

Guides

  • Schoenomyza dorsalis

    Schoenomyza dorsalis is a species of true fly in the family Muscidae, subfamily Coenosiinae. Described by Loew in 1872, it belongs to a genus of small to medium-sized flies commonly associated with wetland and semi-aquatic habitats. The species is poorly documented in scientific literature, with minimal observational records available.

  • Stomoxys

    stable flies

    Stomoxys is a genus of muscid flies distinguished by its blood-feeding ectoparasitic lifestyle, unusual among the Muscidae. The genus comprises approximately 20 described species, with Stomoxys calcitrans (stable fly) being the most economically significant and widely distributed. Species in this genus are obligate hematophages of mammals, causing substantial livestock losses through blood loss, stress, and disease transmission. Current phylogenetic evidence suggests the genus is paraphyletic.

  • Stomoxys calcitrans

    Stable Fly, Barn Fly, Biting House Fly, Dog Fly, Power Mower Fly, Beach Fly, Lawn-mower Fly

    Stomoxys calcitrans, commonly known as the stable fly, is a worldwide pest of livestock and humans. Both sexes are obligate blood-feeders, inflicting painful bites that cause significant economic losses in cattle operations through reduced weight gain and milk production. The species is easily mistaken for the common house fly but distinguished by its piercing-sucking mouthparts. Native to Eurasia and Africa, it has spread globally through human activity.

  • Synthesiomyia

    Synthesiomyia is a small genus of muscid flies in the family Muscidae. The genus contains at least one well-documented species, Synthesiomyia nudiseta, which has gained forensic importance as a carrion-associated fly in tropical, subtropical, and recently colonized Palearctic regions. Species in this genus exhibit facultative predatory behavior and are used in postmortem interval estimation.

  • Thricops diaphanus

    Thricops diaphanus is a muscid fly species with a Palearctic distribution spanning Europe and Asia. Populations in central Japan exhibit a univoltine life cycle with seasonal changes in vertical microdistribution within subalpine coniferous forests, contrasting with multivoltine populations in Europe. The species has been interpreted as a glacial relict in Japanese highlands due to its lack of seasonal migration between elevations.