If you live in Wisconsin, you will know that flies can be a nuisance.
Wisconsin has many types of flies, including house flies, stable flies, and fruit flies.
They come in swarms and can cause a variety of problems. But don’t worry; there are ways to get rid of them.
In our blog post, we’ll discuss the different types of flies in Wisconsin and how to get rid of them once and for all.
Let’s get started!
1. Yellow Jacket Fly
The Yellow Jacket Fly (Spilomyia longicornis ), being the first on our list, lacks a stinger.
Still, the traditional bee colors and the striped pattern on its abdomen give the impression that it does.
The Yellowjacket Fly has wide eyes that are yellow and black with little dots arranged in a striped pattern.
These types of flies in Wisconsin can be distinguished from a bee or wasp, thanks to their small antennae.
Their black front legs can occasionally extend forward, giving the impression that their antennae are longer, which can be confusing.
The black thorax of yellowjacket flies is also marked with a yellow-shaped mark.
This non-harmful fly visits asters, goldenrods, and other blooming in natural and manicured gardens, where it can be seen sipping nectar. It operates from early spring through late summer.
2. Scorpionfly
Scorpionfly(Panorpa Spp) is also on Wisconsin’s list of types of flies. A male Scorpionfly’s curled “tail” has a protrusion that resembles a stinger at the tip.
Although the relationship is only aesthetic and not practical, its resemblance to scorpion tails gave rise to their common moniker.
The male’s reproductive organ is at the protruding end of his “tail.” The insect cannot sting with it because it is not a stinger.
After pursuing a willing female with an acceptable gift of food and enticing her with his pheromone, it is used to fertilize eggs inside her during mating. The hump at the tip of the abdomen is absent in females.
The wings have dark bands and markings; both sexes are brown with large beaks.
The female types of flies in Wisconsin deposit fertilized eggs in the soil or inside decaying wood. The larvae consume any dead insects they come across and resemble caterpillars.
They undergo a full metamorphosis to develop into winged adults. While some overwinter as pups, others do so as adults.
Adult types of flies in Wisconsin consumed both alive and dead insects as food, occasionally sipping from flowers.
In wetlands, woods, and forests, look for them resting on flowers and near the ground.
3. Robber Fly
Robber fly (Laphria Grossa) is next on our list of types of flies in Wisconsin, a good substitute for a typical bumble bee.
The locations of the black and yellow color bands are comparable.
The amount of yellow on the body may vary by place, but yellow hairs are present on the face, thorax, upper legs, and upper abdomen.
The antennae are short, as may be seen by a cursory glance; bees have longer, elbowed, or bent antennae.
When the brown wings pass over people, they buzz audibly because they flap quickly.
Robber types of flies in Wisconsin plunder the air for their food.
They frequently nap on a tree branch, fence post, or other perch while waiting for flying insects.
The Robber Fly can ambush and grab insects in flight thanks to its speed.
4. Picture-winged Fly
One of Wisconsin’s most prevalent Picture-winged(Delphinia picta) types of flies is also in central and eastern North America.
The majority of its wings are black. However, they are covered in solid white dots and stripes.
In contrast, the body is a paler shade of brown or flesh. It has pinky-rose-colored eyes.
A female’s ovipositor, which resembles a syringe, is used to lay hundreds of fertilized eggs.
The eggs are laid in rotten fruit, vegetables, or floral debris. Eggs hatch after a week, and the larvae (maggots) eat the remaining plant materials around them.
Even though most larvae pupate and become adults within the same year, some late-season larvae can overwinter in deeper earth and finish developing the following spring.
5. Mydas Fly
Some of the biggest flies in North America belong to this family. The Mydidae family includes species that can grow up to 60mm long (2 inches).
Despite occasionally being mistaken for wasps, large black Mydas (Mydas clavatus) flies in Wisconsin are harmless.
When resting, the large, light-glinting purple-black wings are frequently folded over one another.
Mydas fly females deposit fertilized eggs underground. In woodlands, larvae can be found close to decaying and dead wood.
Young consume various in-the-dirt insects and grubs, including chubby June Bug larvae.
This type of fly is considered advantageous since it eliminates hazards to plant health and yields thanks to the predatory diet of larvae.
Mydas types of flies in Wisconsin larvae eventually pupate in tiny chambers they make in the soil and become winged adults.
Adult types of flies in Wisconsin can be found almost anywhere (parks, gardens, meadows, open lots, forests, etc.).
They may also consume nectar and eat other insects, caterpillars, and flies. Though it may not appear so at first, they are excellent flyers.
They often appear a little awkward when flying. The summer is when they are most active.
6. Repetitive Tachinid Fly
Many people might not realize how crucial flies are to ecology. Despite their strange look, hairy tiny Tachinid flies are crucial biological controllers.
Each species serves as a parasitoid for a specific kind of moth. Because their caterpillars have such ravenous appetites, moths can harm plants.
An insect like the Repetitive Tachinid Fly(Peleteria iterans) helps control the population of caterpillars, protecting plants that produce food.
This black fly with orange wings has spiky hairs that cross its body and surround the sides and back.
A row of black dots forms along the center of its body. Black makes up the face, head, legs, and wings.
Female types of flies in Wisconsin place a fertilized egg on or in front of a moth caterpillar, which eats the egg after it has been laid.
The fly larva, a maggot, emerges from the egg and devours the caterpillar from the inside out until it dies.
As a result, the fly larva is a parasitoid, unlike a parasite, which kills its current host before moving on to another.
Adult types of flies in Wisconsin consume flower nectar, particularly that of asters and plants related to them.
They can be found in various environments, including woods, open fields, marshes, beaches, meadows, parks, and forests. They are most active in the summer and into the fall.
7. Long-legged Fly
Long-legged Flies(Condylostylus Spp) are predators of smaller plant insects like mites and aphids and are frequently seen darting from leaf to leaf on a plant.
They have long legs that resemble mosquitoes more than they do brilliant, metallic colors that are vivid and bright.
The wings of this genus have smoky, black patterns. Males have tufts of fur on their feet, most noticeable when they dance in courting.
It is necessary to act in a refined manner to appeal to women.
Larvae may eat rotting plant debris or the larvae of other insects. The life history and diet of this species still warrant further study.
8. Giant Eastern Crane Fly
The giant eastern crane fly( Pedicia albivitta) is next on Wisconsin’s list of types of flies.
Although crane flies resemble enormous mosquitoes, they are not. This fly neither bites nor stings.
Due to misidentification and misunderstanding, its size and resemblance to the little, annoying, blood-sucking mosquito frequently result in its death.
It frequently rests on window screens, plant branches, or tree trunks. Long wings can extend to 80 mm (over 3 inches).
Although transparent, the wings are patterned with dark bands resembling triangles. Triangular dark-brown streaks go along the top side of the lengthy abdomen.
Although it should have six legs, it is typical to see one with fewer due to how fragile they are. Legs are easily amputated and do not regrow.
Giant Eastern Crane types of flies in Wisconsin larvae are known as maggots, much like all other fly larvae.
The worm-like maggot remains buried in moist soil near the creek and stream banks.
The maggot may consume debris and decomposing plant matter as food. Winged adults spend their time trying to reproduce after emerging as pups.
They are reputedly omnivorous. Please pay attention to them in forests and woodlands, especially at night. Twice a year, in the spring and the fall, are the times when activity is at its peak.
9. Dogwood Sawfly
The antennal tips of the Dogwood Sawfly (Macremphytus tarsatus) black body are where you may most easily see some little white patterns.
Despite being a form of a wasp, sawflies do not sting.
The females use an accessory with teeth resembling a saw blade to make slits in stems or twigs where they place their eggs.
This sawfly’s larva resembles a caterpillar quite a bit. It consumes dogwood tree leaves, eating like a caterpillar.
The immature larva has a yellow belly and is white overall. It appears to have white lint or fluff covering its entire body.
The powdered coating covers the dark skull. The fuzz fades with age, but the smooth body keeps its yellow belly.
However, the top of the caterpillar grows black squares divided by a thin white line. It is sometimes observed with its siblings, coiled up in a little pile on a leaf.
Look for these non-caterpillar larvae on dogwood leaves, where they gnaw from the margins inward.
10. Feather-legged Fly
Feather-legged Fly(Trichopoda lanipes) larvae are little flies that hatch from other insects as hosts.
Plant bugs’ females lay eggs. When the juvenile maggot hatches, it takes on the shape of a stink, leaf-footed, or squash bug and begins to eat the host organism from the inside out, eventually killing it.
A gardener may view the presence of a Feather-legged Fly as advantageous because Stink and Squash Bugs attack produce. In this genus, male and female flies have diverse appearances.
Females types of flies in Wisconsin are entirely black, whereas males typically have orange abdomens.
The back legs of both sexes have long, black hairs that have the appearance of being feathery.
Some species’ dark, iridescent wings contain white veins that extend from the body. They all have large, round eyes and short antennae, which are traits of flies.
Despite being widespread across the continent, several species of feathered flies are local.
As the females search for a suitable host, look for them among vegetable plants. Adults go to flowers as well to get nectar
11. Giant Stonefly
Giant Stoneflies(Pteronarcys species) have long, narrow bodies and distinctive, heavily veined wings.
When folded at repose, these extraordinarily long wings pass over the body, covering the entire body of the Stonefly and even reaching beyond it.
Their eyes are on either side of the head. The long, slender antennae of giant stoneflies stick out before their eyes.
The appearance of bodies can be gray, brown, or black. On or around the neck collar, an orange or red hue may be present (thorax).
Young Giant types of flies in Wisconsin spend their early years in water, where eggs are laid and hatching occurs.
Naiads are the offspring, and these young animals are extremely vulnerable to pollution, rapidly dying off in dirty waterways.
12. Rabbit Bot Fly
Rabbit bot fly (Cuterebra buccata) is next on Wisconsin’s list of types of flies. No one gets bitten by the Rabbit botfly. It doesn’t hurt.
The fly is large for its species and is black, white, and gray. It has huge, black eyes with a crimson stripe in the middle that can be seen occasionally.
The bottom half of the face is white with black dots, and the top portion of the face is black with white dots.
Adult types of flies in Wisconsin are rarely seen because they do not feed and only concentrate on reproduction. The species’ larval form, or maggot, receives all the attention.
Since Rabbit Bot Fly eggs can contact any mammal, finding warbles on domestic pets and small animals like squirrels and rodents is possible.
13. Northern Caddisfly
Northern caddisflies (Pycnopsyche Spp) are unrelated despite their similarity to moths.
The life cycle of a caddisfly is more like that of a dragonfly. Female caddisflies lay fertilized eggs immediately in the water or on vegetation above the water line.
Great ecosystems include creeks, streams, lagoons, ponds, and lakes.
When the eggs hatch, the worm-like larvae dwell underwater for up to a year. They can breathe thanks to their feathery gills.
When it’s time to pupate, they construct tiny cases or “homes” for themselves that they carry around wherever they go.
They consume aquatic insects and submerged plant matter in the interim.
14. Green and Black Soldier Fly
Despite the Green and Black Soldier (Pselliopus hieroglyphics) types of flies in Wisconsin having an amazing resemblance to a bee, its short antennae, spherical eyes, and absence of a stinger help distinguish it from bees.
Seeing a black body with green stripes is unusual, so it’ll probably draw attention when one does appear.
Moist, wet, or damp environments are home to soldier flies. Accordingly, habitats can be as natural as an old forest with decaying leaf litter or as purely man-made as a waste-water treatment facility.
The soldier fly larvae are an extraordinary consumer of rotting and decomposing organic substances.
This diet includes algae, decomposing leaves and logs, rotting fruit, and animal excrement.
15. Virginia Flower Fly
Virginia flower fly (Milesia Virginiensis) is one of those types of flies in Wisconsin and mimics bees, wasps, and hornets. The black and yellow striping prevents wary predators from attacking.
Predators still have another compelling reason to avoid this species: it flies like a Yellowjacket and is known for its aggressive defense (and offensive) stinging behavior.
The Virginia Flower Fly can hover like a wasp over petals. However, because it is a fly, it is harmless to humans and does not sting.
It’s typical for flies to create a loud buzzing noise when they fly. It seems broken because of its exceptionally flat abdomen, which can bend downward.
There are several different settings where adult Virginia Flower types of flies in Wisconsin can be found, including parks, backyard gardens, meadows, and forests.
During the summer, adults are most active and can be seen near flowers or relaxing on low bushes and plants.
In rotting wood, larvae (maggots) will most likely be discovered where they will feed until they mature into flying adults.
16. Woodrat Botfly
Oestridae is a family of flies that includes woodrat bot flies(Cuterebra Americana). These enormous bee imitators neither sting nor bite.
However, this species parasitizes hapless pets as well as small woodland creatures. The female fly lays fertilized eggs around the edge of a rodent or rabbit’s den or hole.
When the mouse passes by and sniffs around, it picks up an egg in its mouth or nose. The egg goes to the animal’s exterior body, beneath the skin, and now it is within.
The most frequent landing spots are the stomach, legs, and back.
The egg grows there, and the animal develops a swelling resembling a tumor. A warble is the name of this growth.
17. Moth Fly
Lastly, on our list, Moth flies, often known as “drain flies” or “filter flies,” are a rare problem in houses, most frequently found in and near sink and bathtub drains.
The adult types of flies in Wisconsin are tiny (2 mm) flies that frequently have a grayish appearance and superficially resemble tiny moths.
The larvae grow by feeding on the bacterial gel that frequently coats the plumbing interior, which is always damp.
Moth flies may also breed in moist filters in swamp coolers, fish tanks, and other structures.
The flies can breed in large numbers when there is an issue with faulty or leaking drain pipes.
Moth flies can reproduce in various places outside, and outdoor lights may draw them there.
