The House Fly, a 1958 educational film produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films, offers an overview of the common house fly (musca domestica), including its anatomy, life cycle, and what the public can do to prevent health concerns caused by the fly. The film shows a woman cooking in the kitchen (00:45), where a fly is pestering her. The narrator says that the fly can visit a number of unsanitary places before arriving in the kitchen, highlighting the fly’s ability to spread disease. The film then uses magnified cameras to show detailed footage of the fly (02:17) and explain its structural features. The film labels the various parts of the fly’s body, looking at its eyes (02:38), antennae, and proboscis (03:19). It also shows viewers the thorax, specifically looking at the fly’s wings and legs (03:53), revealing that flies have claws (04:13), which can spread fungus (05:08). The film then examines the fly’s abdomen and spiracles (05:25), before discussing the fly’s feeding habits and digestive system (05:50). Reproduction is discussed next, as house flies lay eggs any place where there is a food source for the larva to feed on after hatching (07:48), such as garbage or animal manure. With an ovipositor, female flies deposit eggs (07:55), which then hatch (08:22). The film continues with micro-photography, showing the viewer magnified images of the maggot as it molts its skin (09:04) and uses its hook-shaped mouth for feeding and crawling (09:10). A time-lapse shows further development of the larva (10:05), culminating with the final development into a fly, using expanders located on the fly’s head (10:40). The film then begins discussing how to stop the spread of house flies: swatting flies and using insecticides help, but the only effective solution is sanitation. Farmers can use poison bait to reduce fly populations (13:48) and, in urban areas, sewage and garbage can be better disposed to further reduce the threats caused by this common “health menace.”

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