Cluster flies (a.k.a. grass flies or attic flies) are flies of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Pollenia'' in the family

Polleniidae Polleniidae is a family of flies in the order Diptera. There are at least 6 genera and more than 190 described species placed definitively in Polleniidae, and other genera whose placement here is considered uncertain. The largest genus is '' Pol ...

. Unlike the more familiar blow flies, such as the bluebottle genus ''Phormia'' they do not lay eggs in human food. They parasitise

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

s; the females lay their eggs near earthworm burrows, and the larvae then feed on the worms. But the biology of this group is relatively poorly known and a few have been recorded from other hosts including caterpillars and bees. Cluster flies seek refuge in cold weather and find their way into attic spaces and similar areas indoors. They often emerge on warm days, and cluster at windows attempting to exit (hence the name). The typical grass fly '' Pollenia rudis'' is about 7 mm long and can be recognised by distinct lines or stripes behind the head, short golden-coloured hairs on the

thorax The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

, and irregular light and dark grey areas on the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

. Cluster flies are typically slow-moving. Cluster flies have a widespread distribution. Eight species are found in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and 31 in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. ''Pollenia'' species are also numerous in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

(over 30 species); they are common in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. ''P. rudis'' has spread widely in association with humans.

Species

*'' P. advena'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. aerosa'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. agneteae'' Rognes, 2019 *'' P. alajensis'' Rohdendorf, 1926 *'' P. amentaria'' (

Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italian physician and naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational European" and the "Linnaeus of the Au ...

1763 Events January–March * January 27 – The seat of colonial administration in the Viceroyalty of Brazil is moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. * February 1 – The colonial authorities in the Province of North Carolin ...

) *'' P. angustigena'' Wainwright, 1940 *'' P. antipodea'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. astrictifrons'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. atramentaria'' ( Meigen, 1826) *'' P. atricoma'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. atrifemur'' Malloch, 1930 *'' P. bartaki'' Rognes, 2016 *'' P. bezziana'' Rognes, 1992 *'' P. bicolor'' Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 *'' P. bulgarica'' Jacentkovsky, 1939 *'' P. calamisessa'' Hardy, 1932 *'' P. chotei'' Kurahashi & Tumrasvin, 1979 *'' P. commensurata'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. consanguinea'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. consectata'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. contempta'' Robineau-Desvoidy, 1863 *'' P. cuprea'' Malloch, 1930 *'' P. dasypoda'' Portschinsky, 1881 *'' P. demissa'' (

Hutton Hutton may refer to: Places ;Antarctica * Hutton Cliffs, Ross Island * Hutton Mountains ;Australia * Hutton Sandstone Formation ;Canada * Hutton, Alberta, a locality * Hutton, British Columbia, a railway point * Hutton railway station, Brit ...

, 1901) *'' P. dysaethria'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. dyscheres'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. dysethria'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. enetera'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. erlangshanna'' Feng, 2004 *'' P. eurybregma'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. flindersi'' Hardy, 1932 *'' P. fulviantenna'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. fulvipalpis'' Macquart 1835 *'' P. fumosa'' (

, 1901) *'' P. griseotomentosa'' (Jacentkovsky 1944) *'' P. grunini'' Rognes, 1988 *'' P. haeretica'' Séguy, 1928 *'' P. hazarae'' ( Senior-White, 1923) *'' P. hirticeps'' Malloch, 1927 *'' P. hispida'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. huangshanensis'' Fan & Chen, 1997 *'' P. hungarica'' Rognes, 1987 *'' P. ibalia'' Séguy, 1930 *'' P. immanis'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. insularis'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. japonica'' Kano & Shinonaga, 1966 *'' P. labialis'' Robineau-Desvoidy 1863 *'' P. lativertex'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. leclercqiana'' (

Lehrer Lehrer, alternatively Lehr, Lehrian or Lehrmann, is a surname that can be either Germanic or Jewish. Origin Teacher The most probable option for the origin of the Lehrer surname is from the word ''Lehrer'', meaning teacher or rabbi in the Germ ...

1978) *'' P. limpida'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. luteovillosa'' Rognes 1987 *'' P. margarita'' Schluesslmayr & Sivell, 2021 *'' P. mayeri'' Jacentkovsky 1941 *'' P. mediterranea'' Grunin 1966 *'' P. mesopotamica'' Mawlood & Abdul-Rassoul, 2009 *'' P. moravica'' (Jacentkovský, 1941) *'' P. moretonensis'' Macquart, 1855 *'' P. mystica'' Rognes, 1988 *'' P. nigripalpis'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. nigripes'' Malloch, 1930 *'' P. nigrisquama'' Malloch, 1930 *'' P. nigrita'' Malloch, 1936 *'' P. notialis'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. opalina'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. oreia'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. paragrunini'' Rognes, 1988 *'' P. paupera''

Rondani Rondani is an Italian surname. Notable people having this name include: * Camillo Rondani, (1808–1879), an Italian entomologist noted for his studies of Diptera * Giovanni Maria Francesco Rondani Giovanni Maria Francesco Rondani (15 July 1490 � ...

, 1862 *'' P. pectinata'' Grunin, 1966 *'' P. pediculata'' Macquart 1834 *'' P. pernix'' (

, 1901) *'' P. ponti'' Rognes, 1991 *'' P. primaeva'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. pseudintermedia'' Rognes, 1987 *'' P. pseudomelanurus'' (Feng, 2004) *'' P. pulverea'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. rudis'' (

Fabricius Fabricius (, ) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *people from the Ancient Roman Fabricia gens, gens Fabricia: **Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome * Johann Goldsmid (1587–1616), known by his ...

, 1794) *'' P. ruficrura''

, 1862 *'' P. rufifemorata'' Rognes & Baz, 2008 *'' P. sakulasi'' (Kurahashi, 1987) *'' P. sandaraca'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. scalena'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. semicinerea'' Villeneuve, 1911 *'' P. shaanxiensis'' Fan & Wu, 1997 *'' P. sichuanensis'' Feng, 2004 *'' P. similis'' (Jacentkovsky, 1941) *'' P. stigi'' Rognes, 1992 *'' P. stolida'' Malloch, 1936 *'' P. tenuiforceps'' Séguy, 1928 *'' P. townsendi'' Senior-White, Aubertin & Smart, 1940 *'' P. umbrifera'' (

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

, 1861) *'' P. uniseta'' Dear, 1986 *'' P. vagabunda'' ( Meigen 1826) *'' P. venturii''

Zumpt Zumpt is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Karl Gottlob Zumpt (1792–1894), German classical scholar * August Wilhelm Zumpt (1815–1887), German classical scholar, nephew of Karl * Fritz Konrad Ernst Zumpt Fritz Konrad Er ...

, 1956 *'' P. vera'' Jacentkovsky, 1936 *'' P. verneri'' Rognes, 1992 *'' P. viatica'' Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 *'' P. viridiventris'' Macquart, 1847

In Popular Culture

American rock band,

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

, references the common name of this species on their ninth studio album

Farmhouse FarmHouse (FH) is a men's social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 34 active chapters in the United States and Canada.FarmHouse Fraternity New Memb ...

. The song, titled ''Farmhouse'', was written by

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, composer, and singer-songwriter best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 ...

and

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

born

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Tony Markellis Tony Markellis (10 September 1952 – 29 April 2021) was a bassist and record producer, born in Helena, Montana, to a Greek immigrant, Constantine Markellis, and the daughter of Greek immigrants, Victoria Carkulis, residing in Saratoga Springs, N ...

. The song's lyrics address the difficulty of managing the insects.https://phish.net/song/farmhouse/lyrics

References

External links

Images
of some cluster fly species: ''Pollenia amentaria'' Scopoli ; ''Pollenia angustigena'' Wainwright and ''Pollenia rudis''Fabricius.
European including Russia species
* https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35035#page/322/mode/1up {{DEFAULTSORT:Cluster Fly Polleniidae Articles containing video clips Diptera of Europe Diptera of Asia Diptera of Australasia Brachycera genera Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Robineau-Desvoidy