[1] Unlike most members of the family Muscidae, Stomoxys calcitrans ('sharp mouth' + 'kicking') and others of its genus suck blood from mammals.

[3] The stable fly resembles the common housefly (Musca domestica), though smaller, and on closer examination has a slightly wider and spotted abdomen.

[7] It also occurs in coastal areas where larvae may inhabit masses of decaying aquatic vegetation deposited ashore.

[3] The earliest and one of the most comprehensive accounts of stable fly biology was presented by F. Bishopp in 1913.

[9] Some of the reported parasites and diseases for which the stable fly might be a vector include Trypanosoma evansi (the agent of Surra), Trypanosoma brucei, brucellosis, equine infectious anemia, African horse sickness (AHS), and fowlpox.