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What the sources say

HouseflyMusca domestica

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Housefly profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 51 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

Musca domestica. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

The page saysA fly that tastes with its feet
The source saysthey taste their food through their feetNote: tagline
The page sayssips only liquids
The source saysHouseflies can only intake food in liquid formNote: tagline
The page saysNot Evaluated
The source saysIUCN Red List [Link] Not EvaluatedNote: ADW's IUCN line. The prefetch found no Red List assessment DOI and GBIF holds no category for Musca domestica.
The page saysAlmost anywhere, in cities and the countryside, especially where people live
The source saysHouseflies are found almost anywhere, especially in areas that humans also inhabit ... Houseflies live in both urban and rural areasNote: stats.habitat
The page saysLiquids only: milk, sugar, blood, dung and decaying matter
The source saysHouseflies can only intake food in liquid formNote: stats.diet, first clause
The page saysmilk, sugar, blood, dung and decaying matter
The source saysThe main food sources of houseflies are milk, sugar, blood, feces, and decaying organic matterNote: stats.diet; dung = feces
The page saysTastes food with its feet and coats hard food in saliva and stomach fluid to break it down
The source saysTo break down harder foods, houseflies deposit saliva and stomach contents from their crop onto their food ... they taste their food through their feetNote: stats.superpower
The page saysA housefly tastes with its feet.
The source saysthey taste their food through their feet
The page saysTaste hairs, many of them on its feet, do the sampling.
The source saysHouseflies taste food through taste hairs, many of which are located on their feet
The page saysThat is why houseflies tend to crawl on food.
The source saysThis is why houseflies have a tendency to crawl on food.Note: ADW's own 'This is why', following the foot-taste sentence.
The page saysHouseflies can only take in food as a liquid, through sponge-like mouthparts.
The source saysmouthparts of adults are sponge-like ... Houseflies can only intake food in liquid form
The page saysThey cannot ingest particles larger than 0.045 mm.
The source saysHouseflies cannot ingest particles larger than .045 mmNote: ADW prints .045 mm; same value as 0.045
The page saysTo deal with harder food, a fly puts saliva and stomach contents from its crop (a storage pouch) onto it, which makes it easier to digest.
The source saysTo break down harder foods, houseflies deposit saliva and stomach contents from their crop onto their food, which makes it easier to digestNote: "a storage pouch" is a plain-language gloss of crop, not from the source.
The page saysStraw-coloured spots on food may show where a fly regurgitated
The source saysStraw-colored spots on food may indicate where the housefly regurgitatedNote: "or brought food back up" is a gloss of regurgitated.
The page saysDark spots are its droppings.
The source saysHouseflies also leave feces on food, which show up as dark spots
The page saysAn adult is 4 to 8 mm long, and 6.35 mm on average
The source saysHouseflies are 4 to 8 mm long, and 6.35 mm long on average
The page saysa wingspan of 13 to 15 mm
The source saysRange wingspan 13 to 15 mm
The page saysan average mass of 0.012 g
The source saysAverage mass .012 gNote: ADW prints .012 g; same value as 0.012
The page saysFemales are slightly larger than males.
The source saysFemales are slightly larger than males
The page saysLike all flies, it has one pair of wings.
The source saysLike all flies ( Diptera ), houseflies have only one pair of wings
The page saysThe second pair is reduced to halteres, which are used for balance.
The source saysThe second pair is reduced to halteres, which are used for balance
The page saysAnimal Diversity Web says houseflies can fly in bursts up to 15 miles per hour
The source saysHouseflies can fly in bursts up to 15 miles per hourNote: ADW only; attributed. Wingbeat figure (1,000 per minute) cut by reviewer: no second source, and far below published housefly wingbeat rates.
The page saysgives a typical lifespan in the wild of 15 to 25 days
The source saysTypical lifespan Status: wild 15 to 25 daysNote: ADW only, attributed in the sentence. Reviewer searched every cached source for the wave: none newer states a lifespan.
The page saysHouseflies are found almost anywhere, especially where people live.
The source saysHouseflies are found almost anywhere, especially in areas that humans also inhabit
The page saysThey are believed to have come from temperate parts of the Eastern Hemisphere
The source saysThey are believed to have originated in temperate regions of the Eastern Hemisphere
The page saysand now have a worldwide range.
The source saysOther Geographic Terms cosmopolitanNote: ADW glossary: cosmopolitan = "having a worldwide distribution".
The page saysA female lays about 500 eggs in her life, in 5 to 6 batches.
The source saysA female lays approximately 500 eggs throughout her life. The female will deposit these eggs in 5 to 6 batches
The page saysMaggots develop best in dung heaps, garbage cans and road kill.
The source saysdung heaps, garbage cans, and mammalian road kill are the best environments for larvae to developNote: ADW: "larva or maggot".
The page saysA housefly can complete its life cycle in as little as 7 to 10 days, so as many as 10 to 12 generations may occur in one summer.
The source saysHouseflies can complete their life cycle in as little as 7 to 10 days, so as many as 10 to 12 generations may occur in one summer
The page saysTheir feces can spread typhoid fever, diarrhea and cholera.
The source saysThe feces of houseflies can spread typhoid fever, amoebic and bacillary dysentery, diarrhea, cholera
The page saysHouseflies do not bite.
The source saysHouseflies do not bite.
The page saysTheir mouthparts are two fleshy, grooved lobes, and the grooves on the underside act as channels for liquid food.
The source saysMouthparts are comprised of two fleshy, grooved lobes called the labella ... The lower surface of these lobes contains numerous transverse grooves that serve as liquid food channels
The page saysThat design means they can only take up food that is liquid or dissolved.
The source saysTheir sponge-like mouthparts require them to uptake food in either a liquid or dissolved mannerNote: ADW: sponge-like mouthparts 'require them to uptake food in either a liquid or dissolved manner'.
The page saysAdults are most active and live longest between 10 and 26.6 degrees Celsius.
The source saysThey are most active and live longest in temperatures between 10 and 26.6 degrees Celsius
The page saysThey go inactive below 7.2 degrees Celsius and die below 0 or above 44.4 degrees Celsius.
The source saysAdult houseflies are inactive at temperatures below 7.2 degrees Celsius and die when temperatures go below 0 degrees Celsius or above 44.4 degrees Celsius
The page saysflies in bursts of up to 15 miles per hour
The source saysHouseflies can fly in bursts up to 15 miles per hourNote: vibe.reason, animal half
The page saysdangerLevel: Low
The source saysHouseflies do not bite.Note: Capability reading (#1249): a mechanical vector carries pathogens on its body and feces, and does nothing to a person itself; the biting vectors (tsetse fly, mosquitoes, deer tick) are Deadly because their bite delivers the pathogen. The disease risk is stated in the tagline and the blockquote.
The page saystags: scavenger
The source saysSpecifically, dung heaps, garbage cans, and mammalian road kill are the best environments for larvae to develop.Note: ADW's diet key also lists scavenger and carrion.

Source
02

Scott et al. 2014

Scott et al. (2014). Genome of the house fly, Musca domestica L., a global vector of diseases with adaptations to a septic environment. Genome Biology.

The page saysis a mechanical vector of more than 100 diseases
The source saysare mechanical vectors of more than 100 devastating diseasesNote: tagline
The page saysGenome researchers say they are always found in association with humans and human activities.
The source saysHouse flies are always found in association with humans and human activities
The page saysThe house fly genome holds 146 P450 genes, which suggests enhanced detoxification
The source saysThere are 146 P450 genes, plus 11 pseudogenes, in M. domestica , representing a significant increase relative to D. melanogaster and suggesting the presence of enhanced detoxification in house fliesNote: 146 excludes 11 pseudogenes
The page sayscompared with 86 in the fruit fly
The source saysD. melanogaster , which has 86
The page saysIt also has 771 putative immune-related genes
The source saysWe identified 771 putative immune-related genes in the house fly
The page sayswith substantial increases in copy number and diversity over the fruit fly's immune system, consistent with life in a pathogen-rich environment
The source saysCompared with Drosophila melanogaster , the genome contains a rich resource of shared and novel protein coding genes, a significantly higher amount of repetitive elements, and substantial increases in copy number and diversity of both the recognition and effector components of the immune system, consistent with life in a pathogen-rich environment
The page saysInsecticides have been used on houseflies for a century, and the species evolved resistance to them quickly.
The source saysInsecticides have been used extensively for controlling house flies for a century and this pest has shown a remarkable ability to rapidly evolve resistance
The page saysAdult houseflies are mechanical vectors of more than 100 devastating diseases.
The source saysAdult house flies, Musca domestica L., are mechanical vectors of more than 100 devastating diseases
The page saysTheir mobility and regular contact with dung, carcasses and garbage all contribute to their role in transmitting them.
The source saysThe mobility of house flies, their regular contact with excreta, carcasses, garbage and other septic matter, and intimate association with animal pathogens and humans all contribute to their roles in transmission of these diseases
The page saysA century of extensive insecticide use has met what genome researchers call a remarkable ability to rapidly evolve resistance.
The source saysInsecticides have been used extensively for controlling house flies for a century and this pest has shown a remarkable ability to rapidly evolve resistance

Source
03

Williamson et al. 1996

Williamson et al. (1996). Identification of mutations in the housefly para-type sodium channel gene associated with knockdown resistance (kdr) to pyrethroid insecticides. Molecular and General Genetics MGG.

The page saysOne important mechanism is knockdown resistance, or kdr, which confers nerve insensitivity to DDT and pyrethroid insecticides.
The source saysknockdown resistance (kdr), an important resistance mechanism that confers nerve insensitivity to DDT and pyrethroid insecticides
The page saysThe para-type sodium channel gene has been implicated as its site.
The source saysthe para-type sodium channel gene of the housefly, Musca domestica. This gene has been implicated as the site of knockdown resistance (kdr)
The page saysA 1996 study found a leucine-to-phenylalanine swap in that channel in two kdr strains and six super-kdr strains of diverse geographic origin, and in none of five pyrethroid-sensitive strains.
The source saysA leucine to phenylalanine replacement in the hydro-phobic IIS6 transmembrane segment was found in two independent kdr strains and six super-kdr strains of diverse geographic origin ... Neither mutation was present in five pyrethroid-sensitive strainsNote: 1996 is the reference's year; 'none of five' = 'Neither mutation was present in five pyrethroid-sensitive strains'.

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.