Quentin Steinberg  age 10  of Seattle.9 Wash

What is the life cycle of the housefly?

If the weather is warm and the garbage plentiful a house fly may become full grown in less than two weeks. Mrs. Housefly lays from 500 to 2x000 eggs at a time. She places them in damp manure or garbage piles. The eggs hatch into small white maggots in a fete days. For about five days these repulsive fellows stuff themselves with food. Then they go into the pupa state and rest for another five days. Next they hatch into full grown flies. Half of the brood of eggs will be females$ all ready to start another generation of pesky flies.

If she isn’t swatted$ sprayed or eaten by a bat: bird or frogs the fly can live through the whole summer. Nature puts a stop to her amazing multiplication with the cold days of fall.. Cool weather delays each step in the life cycle of the fly. Sometimes a batch of eggs is unable to hatch for months. A warm spell in the middle of winter will bring them forth. A few flies will became full grown and lay new batches of eggs. This is how the house fly manages to survive the winter.