Site icon Conservation news

The humble, sometimes helpful, sometimes deadly, fly


Unidentified red-eyed fly on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. If you have any information on this species please contact me. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.


Often despised at best as pesky and at worst as carriers of deadly diseases, flies are rarely favorites in the animal kingdom. Yet flies do play important roles in ecosystems: feeding on feces, dead animals, and other decaying matter flies act as natural decomposers. Some flies also act as pollinators. In addition, a number of other species depend on flies for as prey.







Unidentified green-eyed fly on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. If you have any information on this species please contact me. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.







Unidentified biting fly in Brazil. If you have any information on this species please contact me. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.







Tse-tse fly in Kenya. The tes-tse fly is a known carrier of a number of diseases including sleeping sickness. The tse-tse fly kills hundreds of thousands of people a year. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.







Flies feeding on dung in Uganda. If you have any information on this species please contact me. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.






To see more photos of flies from around the world: Flies .

Exit mobile version