Introduction. Crane flies are the largest family of flies in Australia.
In Australia, the winter crane fly larvae feed on rotting organic matter and, possibly, on frost-damaged or waterlogged plants. They breed in wet or moist areas with poor soil drainage and as the name suggests are active in the cooler weather of autumn and spring1.
Family Sarcophagidae
This fly is large in size. It is grey in colour with three grey longitudinal stripes on thorax. Their head is relatively small with bright red eyes.
It's estimated that there are 30,000 species of fly in Australia, of which only 6400 have been described. Flies can be distinguished from other insects because they have only one pair of functional wings.
Gauromydas heros can reach a length of 32–70 millimetres (1.3–2.8 in) and a wingspan of about 10 centimetres (3.9 in). It is the largest fly known.
Broad-headed Flies are the rarest Flies known, having been collected by only one person at one place during early 1903.
Flies hate the smell of essential oils like lemon grass, peppermint, lavender and eucalyptus – put a few drops in a spray bottle and use around the house daily. They also hate the smell of camphor (a traditional moth deterrent) which you can buy online, cloves and cinnamon.
The large, black, pesky flies that show up in bedrooms and on window sills from late fall through early spring are common household pests. These flies are known as cluster flies, a name that describes their habit of clustering in large numbers inside attics.
Crane flies usually look like giant mosquitoes. They are completely harmless to people. The mouthparts look like a snout. Nearly all crane flies look like huge mosquitoes.
Australia's Largest Insect:
Ctenamorpha species of stick insect found in the wet tropics. An overall body length measuring up to 50 cms.
Assassin Bugs, Mantids and Spiders eat adult flies. Parasitic Wasps sting Fruit Fly larvae in fruit (see beneficial wasps).
Moth Flies
The black wings of the Bathroom/Moth Fly (Telmatoscopus albipunctatus) are edged with tiny white spots like Christmas lights (from albi—white, and punctatus—point), and it holds its wings out to the side in a flat “V”.
There are more than 200 species in Australia and they are sometimes known as horse flies or tabanids. The females of most species of March fly take a blood meal after inflicting a painful bite with their piercing mouthparts. They can be annoyingly persistent when attempting to bite.
Distribution. Robber flies throughout Australia. Because of their size and active habits, robber flies are one of the more common flies seen in Sydney.
The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) or Hermetia illucens, is an introduced species to Australia, endemic to the south-eastern part of the United States. BSF is not recognised as a pest because the adult is not attracted to human habitation or foods, they are also non-biting and non-invasive.
Therefore, if you find that you suddenly have a lot of flies in your house, chances are there's decaying matter somewhere. No matter how clean you keep your house, you probably have something rotting somewhere. For example, garbage cans and garbage disposals. These spots are prime breeding sites for flies.
Those flies may appear when a small animal such as a mouse, rat, squirrel or bird dies within a wall, ceiling or floor void. You may or may not detect an odor. Such flies will find the hidden carcass and lay eggs on it. The eggs will hatch into larvae (maggots) which feed on the carcass.
Here are some of the most well-known scents that can lure flies: House flies: Unpleasant, decaying smells (rotting meat, decomposing garbage, etc.) Fruit flies: Sweet, sugary smells (ripe or rotting fruit, spilled soda or juice, alcohol, etc.) Drain flies: Moist, mildewy smells.
✔️Mix apple cider vinegar and dish soap.
Combine equal parts of the two in a small bowl and add a pinch of sugar to the mix. Ideally, the dish soap will have a fruity smell. “The fermented smell from the vinegar can attract flies,” Pereira says. “But the soap is really what will kill them.”
Well studies have shown that the color yellow is the number one color that repels flies. Unfortunately you would need to completely surround your home in yellow light bulbs for it to have any real effect.
Some purple flies are variations of established patterns. Other flies exhibit a purple-colored theme in a more creative manner, crowding the edge of reality with purple trailing shucks, wings, and other body parts. There are purple midges, emergers, streamers, terrestrials, caddisflies, and attractors.
From May to October, the lesser housefly comes frequently into buildings and is noticeable by its peculiar, silent flight in the room center, where it circles down-hanging articles, particularly lamps.
While there is some variation in the structure and function of the dorsal vessel across insect species, flies generally possess a single dorsal vessel.