How big is the world's largest fly?

Did you know that the world's smallest fly is only 0.4mm and the normal fly falls around 8mm .

Learn the world's largest fly

Most of us don't like flies. They are an annoying animal, especially dirty because they carry many dangerous pathogens. However, have you ever thought that flies can . be as big as a palm?

These are the flies of the two groups of mydas and timberflies and are the largest flies of the Earth to date.

1. Mydas fly

Gauromydas heros - the largest fly subspecies of the Mydas fly group.

Mydas fly group, also known as Mydidae, has more than 400 species, appearing all over the world, especially in areas with hot, humid climate and shrub vegetation. More prominent in this group of flies is Gauromydas heros (or Mydas heros).

Fly Gauromydas heros has body length up to 7cm.

According to many reports, Gauromydas heros flies have a length of up to 7cm (almost 10 times more than normal flies). This is the largest size of flies that can be reached in Earth's current climate.

An unknown category of Mydas fly.

There has not been much research on the life of Mydas flies, but according to what has been observed, individual adult males feed from nectar, but their larvae are carnivorous.

Specifically, the G. heros male flies will protect the mound - usually the nest of an ant species - so that female flies will lay their eggs in it. The food of these larvae is the larvae of insects that live on ant waste.

Some other flies such as Mydas ventralis also have territorial protection. In particular, the male flies often park in the high, observe the surrounding and are ready to fight with the same species.

Mydas ventralis flies have a drastic territorial protection behavior.

2. Wood fly

The wood fly named Pantophthalmidae lives in Central and South America. They are called wood flies because their larvae hatch and live in dry dead stems.

To do this, wood fly larvae have large, developed lower jaw muscles. If there are large numbers in a tree, we can hear each other's chattering from a few meters away.

An adult wood fly - Pantophthalmus tabaninus.

The larvae of the wooden fly grow thanks to sap. However, wood does not contain a lot of nutrients, so they need a long period of months to mature. Scientists say it is this process that makes them reach a "huge" size compared to their peers.

The length of the fly Pantophthalmus tabaninus is up to 8cm (excluding wings).

The largest individuals in the wood fly group have a length from head to abdomen of about 8cm (not including wings). In particular, the wingspan of the fly Pantophthalmus bellardi has reached 8.5 cm (10 times more than the normal fly).

However, unlike larvae, adult flies have less developed jaw muscles, so they almost don't eat. The life of a wooden fly lasts only a few weeks and is quite . monotonous: mating, laying eggs and . dying.

Male wood flies (left) and female (right) belong to the Pantophthalmidae species.

Despite its enormous size and a fierce appearance, most wooden flies are harmless. Therefore, instead of "aggressive" fighting like other flies, wooden flies have a more special defense, by capturing another creepy insect, wasps.

The female fly has a long and pointed part in the tail of a bee.

On the belly of the female fly has a long and pointed part, which looks like the scary venom of wasps. However, this is essentially just . spawn tube, but enough to threaten most enemies.

The head part of the wooden fly belongs to the species opetiops alienus.