Drain Fly / Moth Fly
Insects (Insecta) / Pterygota / Flies (Diptera) / Nematocera /
Moth and Sand Flies (Psychodidae) Live adult drain flies
photographed at Churchill Woods Forest Preserve, DuPage County,
Illinois, USA August 15, 2005 Size: 5mm
Drain Fly
This is one of those small black flies that
breed in sewage sludge that accumulates in various places such as the floor
drain in your basement. They like to hang out on the walls of a basement shower
stall or anywhere there is a neglected drain without a trap. Over the years, I
was plagued by these flies at various times until a friend told me to pour some
household bleach down the drain. Viola! They're gone for several weeks. Repeat
as needed.
I never knew what these things actually looked like until I photographed them. I
was stunned to see their structure; the feathery antennae and furry appearance.
Very strange, I thought, and then wondered if they were not moths? Nay, sayeth
my buds at bugguide. They be moth flies. Ok. I'll continue to call them drain
flies.
