Stable flies will feed on blood from practically any warmblooded
animal, including humans, pets and livestock. During periods of high
stable fly activity, humans can be severely annoyed and this insect has
been called "the biting house fly." Individual flies may feed more than
once per day. Peaks of feeding activity commonly occur during the
early morning and again in the late afternoon. Stable flies prefer
feeding on lower parts of the hosts such as the legs. Both male and
female stable flies feed on blood, and the female requires blood meals
to produce viable eggs. Females deposit their eggs in a variety of
decaying animal and plant wastes, but are rarely found in fresh manure.
This fly prefers excrement mixed with straw, soil, silage or grain but
are also found in wet straw, hay, grass clippings, other post harvest
refuse and poorly managed compost piles. Large round hay or straw
bales, where contacted by moist soil, may serve as larval developme