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Cluster Fly, Diptera: Calliphoridae, Pollenia rudis
INTERESTING FACTS: These flies appear during late autumn, winter, and early spring at windows and in rooms not frequently used.
When crushed, they leave a greasy spot on upholstery, carpets, and wood surfaces.
HABITAT: Adult flies of the last generation of the year become numerous during the latter days of September to mid-October. As cold weather progresses, adults seek protected places to spend the winter. In many cases, this is within walls, attics, storage rooms, and basements of houses.
Screens offer no protection since these flies prefer to crawl in through small openings elsewhere around the building. For this reason they are extremely difficult to keep out of houses. Isolated houses in the country are especially prone to invasion, since they offer the only warm shelter for miles around.
LIFE CYCLE: The female lays eggs in the soil near the burrows of earthworms. The tiny maggots that hatch from the eggs seek out earthworms to feed upon. The maggots of cluster flies have never been reared on any other food but living earthworms. When full grown, the parasitic maggot leaves the body of the host and enters the soil. There are about four generations a year.
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