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FLIES

Flies are insects in the order Diptera and can be found on all seven continents of our planet. There are 110,000 known globally and they are believed to be many more unidentified species. 75 fly families are known to feed on flowers and some of our local pollinating flies are great mimics of bees and wasps, flashing the warning colors of yellow and black. However, flies do not have stingers and they do have larger, more bulbous eyes than bees and wasps. They also have one set of wings, unlike the other insect pollinators that have two sets of wings. They grow in the metamorphosis life cycle made up of four stages: egg, larva, pupa (cocoon for flies) and adult. Their larva can be parasitic, eating pests and other small garden visitors, or they can eat rotting plant material like fallen leaves or fruit. They overwinter in Chicago in leaf litter or beneath the soil, most in their pupal stage.