How Long Does a Fruit Fly Live?

There are different species of flies and one of the most common ones are the fruit flies. You may see them often and that may lead to curiosity. How long can those insects live?

How long does a fruit fly live? A fruit fly can live for 40 to 50 days. Compared to other species of fly, they live twice longer. Their average life expectancy is heavily affected by their surrounding temperature.

In this case, fruit flies tend to strive better under warm temperatures. There are more food sources for them during this time and more fruits begin to ripe as well.

Without food or water, most flies can last for two to three days. They will pass away when there is nothing for them to eat or drink.

Fruit flies are often seen in civilized areas so they don’t have a lot of predators but in the wild, they have more predators that can cut their life span short.

Unlike other breeds of flies that only live for about 28 to 30 days, fruit flies live about two months longer.

Within 40 to 50 days, female flies are able to mate and lay about 500 eggs, allowing fruit fly population to grow quickly.

Perhaps it could be their “healthier lifestyle”, but flies are full of bacteria in general and fruit flies still eat, nest and breed in dirt contaminated areas like dumpsters, garbage bins, sewers or more if they are left without a choice.

Fruit flies are more attracted to the sweet flavor of ripened fruits and love their juicy extracts. This is why you can see flies gathering around trees or plants that bear fruits.

The fruit fly is an average sized fly and they behave exactly the same as most breeds of flies, they are driven by their survival instincts so they prioritize their needs to live.

They look for food, water, shelter and mate in order to keep their breed alive. It’s the normal life cycle of any other animal.

Since we already mentioned, “life cycle”, we will also tell you about the life cycle of fruit flies and their natural predators too.

Who are the predators of a fruit fly

Like what was stated above, fruit flies commonly live up 40 to 50 days but their mortality rate drops if there were more predators around. So, which animals eat fruit flies?

Here’s a list of fly predators, both common ones and rare ones.

Frogs
- Frogs are one of the most common predators of flies and they can still be found in civilized areas. They have a versatile diet, but will not hesitate to snack on flies any time.
Spiders
- Spiders are also another common predator of flies because they can still inhabit areas where flies are present like occupied homes. Here’s a popular phrase born from spiders eating flies: “caught like a fly in a web of your lies!”
Iguanas, Geckos
- Iguanas and all the other lizards are into insect eating and can catch swift preys like flies. They’re not so common, but house lizards may manage to catch a few flies that get in. A chameleon disguises itself to easily catch swift prey like flies.
Chickens
- Chickens along with other fowls may eat the larvae of fruit flies, which can help cut down their population. Chickens are good hunters, but they can’t catch a fly so they feed on the larvae.
Wasps
- Predacious wasps are a nightmare for some people, and fruit flies are no exception. Wasps will kill and devour fruit flies but they don’t always clash or meet so it’s not a very common sight.
Crickets
- Small critters like insects can also catch a fruit fly and feed on their larvae as well. The larvae is mostly defenseless, flies also have no way of defending themselves other than fleeing with their wings.
Mites
- Mites are no exception. They will eat the larvae of fruit flies if they get the chance.
Ants and other insects
- Ants can really function as a military soldier. If flies land near their nest, they will fight them to death! Fly eggs are also at risk of getting eaten by ants (especially fire arts). Other insects can also be predators of flies.
Venus Flytrap Plant
- Well… the Venus Flytrap is indeed a PLANT not an animal, but I still wanted to include it on this list because eating flies is where it got its name from! So it counts as a predator, right?

When these predators are present, a fruit fly may not be able to live up to their expected life spans. However, like what is stated above, these animals are no longer common in today’s urban or suburban areas so the fruit fly population is uncontrollable and manages to dominate.

What is the life cycle of a fruit fly

There are only “three” stages from the life cycle of all species of flies (fruit flies) and maggots. The beginning of maggots mark the beginning of their transformation into adult flies.

Larvae stage
- Staying as a larvae
- Preparing for pupation
Pupation stage
- Slow transformation
Adult fly stage
- Repeat the cycle

1. Larvae stage

Before entering the pupation stage, maggots actually undergo through multiple molting periods which is necessary to attain new forms before taking on a “new level” which is becoming a pupa.

How long maggots stay as larvae

Maggots stay in their larvae stage for as long as five to ten days.

When the maggot is born, their first priority is eating in order to store as much energy as possible to get ready for pupation, the stage where they transform into adult flies from pupa.

Normally, maggots need to eat for three to five days but it can be longer than that if they are having difficulty finding food. It happens when they are born in a place where the food is not enough for hundreds of maggots.

Where maggots go to enter pupation

Once the maggot has already stored enough energy to enter the pupation stage, they will now look for a dark, secluded place that can secure their safety. Usually, a maggot pupa can be found underneath garbage bins or dark unattended corners.

2. Pupation stage

After finding a safe place away from predators, the maggot will enter and begin the pupation stage after four days. They will then begin their transformation slowly and the process usually takes up to ten days.

As soon as the pupation stage ends, the maggots turned larvae turned pupa can now become adult flies.

3. Adult fly

When the pupation stage ends, the once maggot is now an adult fly that is also ready to lay its own eggs within two days. This will allow their kind to repeat the same process over and over again, keeping their kind going as the world continues to revolve.

Gestation period

Now that the maggots have become adult flies, they are not able to lay their own eggs. A fly stays pregnant for only 24 hours and the egg also hatches after another 24 hours which makes it easy for flies to keep their numbers up.

Repeating the same process, the adult fly will lay its egg on places where the maggots can easily feed off. Usually, they prefer to lay the eggs on decaying corpses because it provides enough food for hundreds of maggots and lasts for days.

Where a fruit fly lays their eggs

Fruit flies often lay their eggs on overripe fruits or rotting fruits. They may occasionally lay their eggs in other materials such as vegetables, garbage, decaying carcasses of other animals and more.

This is why you must stay away from food or fruits that has made contact with a fly.

You will never know if they laid their eggs somewhere around your food.

Fruit flies, just like other common species of fly, follow the same behavior and that is prioritizing their survivability. That is their natural instinct.

Most fly eggs are laid in almost any warm, moist material that will provide food for the larvae (maggots), making it perfect for fruit flies to lay eggs on or inside fruits.

Warm weathered areas usually offer bountiful resources of fruits and other food, making it easy for fruit flies to grow their numbers.

There are also situations when a fruit fly (or any other fly) would lay eggs on wet rugs, carpets, dirty mops or other moist material.

If there are also spilled liquid substances that are sweet or consumable, fruit flies may also lay their eggs around that area.

What attracts a fruit fly

Aside from what their name implies which are “fruits”, what exactly are fruit flies attracted to? What causes them to be around us all the time… and why?

Here’s a list of things that attracts fruit flies and maggots.

Garbage
Feces
Plants
Carcasses
Liquid substances
Unattended food
Warm temperatures
Light sources
Other flies or insects
Unkempt rooms

These factors will invite fruit flies to your neighborhood and there’s only one thing to do in order to avoid them. Keep the area clean!

If there’s nothing attracting a fly, then there won’t be any flies in your area. They only come around if there’s food and water for them to consume. So if there’s nothing, they won’t be coming. Stay neat!