The swarm of flies mentioned in our opening verse was sent by the Lord as one of the ways in which Pharaoh was punished for refusing to let the Israelites go worship the Lord. It must have been a terrible experience, because the housefly is a horrible pest, especially because it carries diseases.
But not all flies are harmful, and many species are actually helpful. It can be hard to tell these apart from the harmful ones, though. One of the good ones is called larva varidia. It has a bright metallic-green thorax and abdomen which have bristly hairs sticking out of them. It is active in the Spring, from April to early June, in England and Wales.
This fly is helpful in controlling caterpillar pests that destroy plants. Its eggs are laid on leaves of plants that are eaten by caterpillars. When the eggs hatch, the maggots are so tiny that the caterpillars do not see them and swallow them when eating the leaf. Unharmed, the maggots pass into the caterpillars and eat their tissues, finally killing them. The maggots soon transform into adult flies. As adults, they consume the nectar and pollen of flowers. As they gather this food, they help pollinate beautiful flowers and delicious fruit.
Another good fly has a bad-sounding name. It is called the robber fly. It has spiny legs and a sharp beak. Perching on a stone or piece of wood until an insect comes along, it suddenly darts out and catches it in its hairy legs. Then it carries the insect back to its perch to eat. There are more than 6,750 kinds of robber flies throughout the world, and they all help us by destroying harmful insects.
There are many other “good” flies. How they destroy harmful pests is yet another proof of God’s goodness to us even in a world so affected by sin.
These flies remind us that just as there are good and bad flies, so there are people who are good and bad. Just as you wouldn’t want to let a “bad” fly land on your food and perhaps make you sick, so you need to avoid friendship with people who will influence you in wrong ways. And you can look for good Christian friends to spend time with, who will help, and not hurt, your Christian life. This might even be a “friend” like a good Christian book. Books have a big influence in our lives for good or bad. But one thing is for sure: The best Friend is the Lord Jesus Himself, who is a “friend that [sticks] closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:2424A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)).
Did You Know?
There are more than 6,750 kinds of robber flies throughout the world.
Messages of God’s Love 9/21/2025