Family overview
Medium-sized, often gray with dark stripes on thorax. Sponging mouthparts (cannot bite — except for stable flies).
Mechanical vectors of typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and other pathogens.
At a glance
Family facts.
Distribution
Worldwide
Habitat
Terrestrial
Approx. species
5,200
Notable members
House fly (Musca domestica), stable fly, face fly