Musca vetustissima — commonly known as the Australian bush fly — is a species of fly found in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is the specific fly that has given rise to the expression "Aussie salute

Aussie Salute

The Aussie salute, also known as the Barcoo salute or Bush salute is the waving of one's hand in front of the face at regular intervals in order to prevent bush flies from landing on it, or entering one's nose or mouth. Pianka characterizes it as a gesture that is "diagnostic of Australia"...

".

Description

The bush fly is a dung fly that is closely related to the bazaar fly (M. sorbens). The adults are attracted to large mammals for fluid for nourishment and feces for oviposition

Oviposition

Oviposition is the process of laying eggs by oviparous animals.Some arthropods, for example, lay their eggs with an organ called the ovipositor.Fish , amphibians, reptiles, birds and monetremata also lay eggs....

. A study showed that there is a low survival rate for eggs and larvae in cattle feces because of infrequent rainfall. The study also showed that parasites and predators have caused a low survival rate. According to a study, the fly can spread harmful bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

. The fly can spread the pathogen

Pathogen

A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...

s Salmonella

Salmonella

Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...

and Shigella

Shigella

Shigella is a genus of Gram-negative, nonspore forming, non-motile, rod-shaped bacteria closely related to Escherichia coli and Salmonella. The causative agent of human shigellosis, Shigella causes disease in primates, but not in other mammals. It is only naturally found in humans and apes. During...

. Most of the bacterial populations per fly occurred in a farm environment while an urban environment was the lowest. A standard composition that contains small amounts of trimethylamine

Trimethylamine

Trimethylamine is an organic compound with the formula N3. This colorless, hygroscopic, and flammable tertiary amine has a strong "fishy" odor in low concentrations and an ammonia-like odor at higher concentrations...

 and indole

Indole

Indole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered nitrogen-containing pyrrole ring. Indole is a popular component of fragrances and the precursor to many pharmaceuticals. Compounds that contain an...

, blended with large amounts of ammonium sulfate

Ammonium sulfate

Ammonium sulfate , 2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen as ammonium cations, and 24% sulfur as sulfate anions...

 and anchovy meal attracts the fly. A wind-oriented trap has been used to catch this species. The number of ovariole in females probably have to do with how big they are. If females do not obtain enough dietary protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

, the maturation of their eggs will stop. The fly likes to crawl on human faces as well as on the faces of livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

.

Larvae

The fly breeds in large numbers in dung pads. Larvae has been found in the feces of large mammals. The species continually breeds in subtropical Australia and migrations help repopulate Australia and Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 each spring. In a study, a mixture of levamisole

Levamisole

Levamisole is an anthelminthic and immunomodulator belonging to a class of synthetic imidazothiazole derivatives. It was discovered at Janssen Pharmaceutica in 1966...

 and oxfendazole

Oxfendazole

Oxfendazole is the sulfoxide form of fenbendazole, a broad spectrum benzimidazole anthelmintic. Its main use is for protecting livestock against roundworm, strongyles and pinworms....

killed larvae in sheep feces.