Attic Flies Uk
Unlike more familiar blow flies such as the bluebottle genus phormia they do not present a health hazard because they do not lay eggs in human food.
Attic flies uk. Cluster flies facts identification control latin name. Light and dark gray checkered abdomens. Naturally your house is warmer. They are strictly parasitic on earthworms.
Cluster fly larvae develop inside earthworms living in the ground outside of homes. You may see a large group of cluster flies around a window as they are attracted to the light on sunny winter days. Attic flies which are also known as cluster flies are insects that often migrate into homes in the fall where they hibernate for the cooler fall and winter months. Cluster flies also known as attic flies are household pests.
Cluster flies then re emerge around late winter spring time when they can become a problem again. Most commonly they move from the ground to your attic for the winter when it gets cold. Cluster flies belong to a family of flies called pollenia and are medium sized about 10mm in length. Flies that gather in roofs around windows and on walls inside in the autumn and winter are called cluster flies also known as attic flies.
And the easiest entrance is usually through external gaps leading to your attic. The anomaly is that cluster flies may try to get into one house but may stay clear of a neighbouring house even if it is a pair of semi detached properties. They require warm places to hibernate over winter. Cluster fly from wikipedia the free encyclopedia the grass flies or cluster flies or attic flies are the genus pollenia in the family polleniidae are completely harmless to human health.
Cluster flies are often known also as attic flies. Cluster or attic flies are the genus pollenia in the blowfly family calliphoridae. The thorax of an adult cluster fly is covered in short golden hairs and the wings overlap when at rest. They are known to give off a sickly odour and they also have a big effect on earthworms around your home.
Adults measure 8 to 10 millimeters. The females lay their eggs near earthworm burrows and the larvae then feed on the worms. Appearance what do they look like. Cluster flies habits mean that they are no real risk to human health like most common flies but they are a nuisance.
They are greyish olive in colour and adorned with golden hairs which makes them quite distinctive to the trained eye. These are not the same as the blue bottles that buzz hard against the windows in the warmer weather or the house flies and smaller flies that are active in summer too. Cluster flies aka attic flies get their name from clustering together in large numbers over the winter months. By instinct they seek shelter away from the elements such as in the fall when it gets cold.