The Aussie salute…

Author Koh Lin ◦

Many Ozzies would know about the “Aussie salute“, whilst others might know it as the “Barcoo salute” (being named after the region around the Barcoo River in Queensland)¹. The “Aussie salute” refers to the gesture that is common across Australia, to deter our infamous bush flies (usually Musca vetustissima), that are attracted to our faces.

If one gets a fly in the mouth, unless you are quick with a cough and a spit, they tickle on the way down and taste nothing like raisins.

Musca vetustissima is a member of the family Muscidae, a group of House Flies and Allies, unlike the Steelblue Bluebottle Fly (Chrysomya saffranea), which is a different family Calliphoridae.

Many of the other flies, we group as annoying, tend not to be attracted to our faces, but can be a nuisance in the house. Belonging to the genus Musca (order Diptera), these include the housefly (Musca domestica) and Sarcophaga aurifrons (that are often attracted to our cup of coffee and food).

There are of course, many insects that are often referred to as “flies”, still in the order Diptera, although they belong to different superfamilies, families, subfamilies.

There are those other so called “flies”, including drone flies, solider flies, bee flies, stiletto flies, robber flies, some that are strange looking and colourful.

Then there are those that do not look like the typical flies…

And then there are many flies that are also great pollinators, feed on nectar, and are seen blowing bubbles like a bee…

Did you want to see more blowing bubbles… then check out these pages:

• Blowing bubbles…
• Bubbling Bees
• Amegilla chlorocyanea – bubbling bee
• Bubbling Meroglossa rubricata
• Ruby… bubbling

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