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Musca domestica

Rango

Housefly

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult - Rarotonga	35KB
Image:	Adults - Switzerland	35KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Housefly; German Stubenfliege

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Rango (MK MT AK TW), Lango (TS PK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: RANGE circumglobal

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group; ?; Land

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Disease spreader, Nuisance

KEY FEATURES: Small, robust fly 5-7mmBL. FACE 2 velvety stipes silver above and gold below; female has eyes widely separated; spongy sucking mouthparts. THORAX grey with 4 narrow black stripes from front to rear. ABDOMEN front 2-3 segments often cream outlined dark.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Skin Fly (Musca sorbens) has thorax with 2 black stripes (vs. 4). The similar-sized fleshfly Sarcodexia lambens has thorax with 3 black stripes.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++++

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
			+++

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Musca domestica Linnaeus, 1758
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; ATELOCERATA; HEXAPODA; INSECTA; PTERYGOTA; Diptera; MUSCIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Disease spreader, Nuisance. Comments: NBSAP - Takitumu (5 of 9 animal pests), NBSAP - Mauke (2 of 10 animals), NBSAP - Mitiaro (6 of 9 animals)

GENERAL NOTE: The most well-known and notorious fly in the world. It lives closely associated with people and domestic animals. They feed on a wide range of foods, rotting plant and animal matter, and excrement. They commonly contaminate food with bacteria and worm eggs.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: specimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Musca domestica, to BPBM.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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