Stomoxys (Stable Flies)

The stomoxys feed on blood from humans and animals. They transmit several diseases, among them Lumpy Skin Disease. In dogs bites are commonly found in the nose and ear area. They cause lesions and in extreme cases a loss of part of the ear.
Infection is mechanical, in other words the pathogen does not develop in the fly, but rather uses it as a “taxi driver” to move from place to place. The fly multiplies mainly in an environment of moist organic material that contains rotting plants such as: slime with straw, old and rotten silages and in areas such as walking paths leading to milking parlors, suckling calves centers and food centers.

The Stomoxys life cycle spans about 21 days. The fly lives about 20 to 30 days and every female lays 200 to 400 eggs. The fly is very similar in shape and color to the common house fly, however a professional eye can easily distinguish between them. The fly’s bloodsucking is painful and irritating and animals drive them away. This is the reason they do not succeed in finishing their blood meal and must attack the animal many times to complete their meal. Before every meal the fly spits up the previous meal of blood. Accordingly, a large number of bloodsucking together with the previous meal that was spit up increase the chances of disease transmission.