House Fly Gallery

LRDS-72 House Fly

LRDS-72
House Fly
Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM)
Musca domestica
Magnification x 40 (A4 size: 29.7 cm width)
Coloured by hand to enhance natural features.
Credit: David Spears (last refuge) / ardea
Last Refuge
Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in any way

© David Spears (Last Refuge)/ardea.com

Male lesser housefly in flight, SEM

Male lesser housefly in flight (Fannia canicularis), composite coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). It is commonly seen in the house and has a distinctive flight pattern darting and turning abruptly forming triangular or square flight paths. It is 5 mm to 6 mm in length

© POWER AND SYRED/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Animal, Biological, Biology, Compound Eye, Entomological, Entomology, Fannia Canicularis, Fly, Head, House, House Fly, Housefly, Insect, Invertebrate, Kitchen, Lesser, Male, Orange Abdomen, Red Eye, Scanning Electron Micrograph, Scanning Electron Microscope, Sem, Wings, Zoological, Zoology

False-colour SEM of the head of a housefly

Coloured scanning electron micrograph of the head of a female housefly, Musca domestica. The head is dominated by the large compound eyes, here tinted yellow, which each contain around 4000 separate image-forming elements known as ommatidia. Each ommatidium is a cone-shaped structure consisting of a cuticular lens, a crystalline cone and an array of light-sensitive cells. The vertical, torpedo-shaped structures lying between the eyes are the fly's antennae. The feathery structure emerging from the centre of each antenna is a sensory organ known as an arista. Magnification: x9 at 35mm size. x15 at 6x4.5cm

© DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY