Bee fly A yellow-striped, furry fly that looks like a bee to deter predators. It feeds on nectar from flowers.

Blow fly A large, scavenging fly with metallic blue or green colouring. Blowflies include bluebottles, cluster flies and screwworms. They lay their larvae in rotting meat, open wounds or dung.

Bot fly A hairy fly whose larvae live as parasites inside mammals. The bot fly catches smaller flies and lays its eggs on their bodies. When the smaller, less noticeable flies land on a mammal, the animal’s body heat causes the eggs to hatch, drop on to the skin and burrow into the flesh.

Crane fly A fly with a slim body and long legs and wings. Crane flies live near water and feed on nectar. Their larvae, known as leather jackets, feed on rotten plant material or other insect larvae.

Diptera The order of insects to which all flies, mosquitoes and gnats belong.

Flesh fly A fly that feeds and breeds on rotting meat or open wounds. Flesh flies usually have red eyes and dark stripes on their bodies. Some give birth to live larvae instead of laying eggs.

Fruit fly A fly that feeds on fruit and lays its eggs inside it. Fruit flies can be serious pests to fruit farmers.

Fungus gnat A small, dark fly with long antennae and legs. Its larvae feed mostly on fungi and roots, eating so much that they may not need to feed as adults.

Gnat A tiny fly that gathers in swarms, especially near water. Some species are bloodsuckers; others feed on plant material. Many gnat larvae are aquatic.

Haltere The modified back wings of a fly. Halteres are short protrusions with small dumbbell shapes at the end. They flap back and forth during flight and help to keep the insect stable.

Horse fly A large fly that lays its eggs near water. Females suck the blood of large mammals, such as horses.

House fly A large, bristly fly that often lives in houses and lays its eggs in rubbish or faeces. It transmits diseases by moving on to human food.

Hoverfly A fly with bee-like markings. Hoverflies move their wings in figure-of-eight movements to hover over flowers as they feed. Some hoverfly larvae live in ant or termite nests or tunnel inside plants.

Maggot Soft, legless fly larvae with biting mouthparts. Maggots hatch from eggs. The eggs are usually laid on a food source such as dung or rotting matter. They develop inside a cocoon before emerging as adults.

Midge A tiny, mosquito-like fly that feeds on plant sap, blood or faeces. They live near water where they often swarm.

Mosquito A fly whose females suck blood. Mosquitoes pierce the skin with their sharp mouthparts and inject a chemical that stops blood from clotting. In some parts of the world, mosquitoes carry the germs that cause malaria.

Moth fly A small fly with a hairy body. Most species feed on decaying plants but some are bloodsuckers.

Robber fly A predatory fly with a broad body and long legs. It catches its prey in mid-air and sucks the juices out of them.

Scuttle fly A fly that often runs instead of flying. It feeds on nectar or wounds. One species is known as the coffin fly, because it breeds in dead bodies after burial.

Snipe fly A small fly that often lives near water. Adults and larvae feed on insects and females also suck blood. Some larvae catch their prey in sandy pits.

Soldier fly A brightly coloured fly that lives near flowers and feeds on nectar. Most species have yellow, green or black stripes.

Stalk-eyed fly A fungus-eating fly with its eyes on the end of long horizontal stalks. During mating season, male stalk-eyed flies compete over females, judging their opponent’s strength by the length of his eye stalks.

Tsetse fly A small African fly that can pass on a fatal disease called sleeping sickness by biting humans or cattle. Female tsetse flies give birth to larvae instead of laying eggs.

Consultant: Chris Jarvis