NEN Gallery

A common blow-fly found in most areas of the world. It is 10�14 millimetres long, slightly larger than a housefly. The head and thorax are dull gray and the abdomen is bright metallic blue with black markings. Its body and legs are covered with black bristle-like hair. It has red eyes and clear wings are clear. They often fly in groups in order to detect possible prey more efficiently, each fly dispersing a pheromone when finding food which alert others blue bottles. They pollinate some strong smelling plants such as goldenrod. They are noisy in flight. The larvae are scavengers that live on carrion or dung. The adults lay their eggs on the carcasses of dead animals. Picture taken 27th August at Bedford.