Where do they go? And how come they come back in plague like proportions?
I live(d) in Victoria, Australia and there are NO flies there in winter, but they are back in the Summer.
What’s the go?
IIRC, most flies (Order Diptera) in general have a very short life span, on the order of days.
The last of flies’ eggs layed in the autumn go into statis rather than develop into larvae (maggots). Then when it warms up enough in the spring, they hatch and start a whole new generation of flies.
Why do they go away in the winter in Australia? Isn’t it still pretty warm?
I just heard yesterday about mosquito’s carrying the West Nile Virus surviving the New York winter by hibernating in the subways. But insects survive winters in northern Canada quite nicely. My guess is the eggs are laid underground or in trees or someplace safe before the winter to wait out the season.
AWB answers my question also.