# Where Do Houseflys Live?

> Where houseflys live: Almost everywhere humans live, native range cues, and human overlap. Status Least Concern.

- **Species:** Housefly (*Musca domestica*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Omnivore (liquid and decaying matter)
- **Habitat:** Almost everywhere humans live
- **Lifespan:** Adults about 2–4 weeks
- **Top speed:** Up to ~8 km/h (5 mph) in flight
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/housefly/where-do-housefly-live/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/housefly/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The housefly (Musca domestica) is a small grey fly, about 6 to 7 mm long, found almost everywhere people live. It feeds by sponging up liquids and decaying matter, flies at up to around 8 km/h (5 mph), and completes its entire life cycle from egg to adult in a week or two. Adults live only about two to four weeks and the species is of Least Concern.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a sighting hotline. This page is native range and habitat.

## Anatomy and flight

A housefly measures just 6 to 7 mm and weighs a tiny fraction of a gram, yet it is one of the most agile fliers in the insect world. It has a single pair of working wings, while the hind pair is reduced to club-shaped halteres that act as gyroscopes and let it change direction almost instantly. In level flight it moves at up to roughly 8 km/h (5 mph), and its large compound eyes, each built from thousands of lenses, detect movement so quickly that a looming hand is spotted long before it lands. Sticky pads on its feet allow it to walk upside down across ceilings and glass.

## Help protect the Housefly

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/housefly/where-do-housefly-live/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.