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Greenbottlle Fly (Lucilia illustris)

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illustris is a member of the Calliphoridae family of flies commonly known as a blow fly. It is 6-9mm in length with a metyallix greenish-blue thorax. Adult flies feed on plants but the maggots on dead flesh. Hence is is used in forensic science to date time of death . The larvae develop in three stages, or instars. Approximately 200 eggs will be laid in a single batch of an adult female, and each individual female can lay up to 10 batches in her three-week life span. Eggs will primarily be found on a carcass, but can also occasionally be in open wounds or excrement. Temperature is a crucial factor in the development time of the blow fly and this particular species. At 25 degrees Celsius, the eggs will take about 24 hours to hatch. As in other green bottle fly species, their larvae (maggots) are carrion feeders and will generally infest any decomposing corpse. Picture taken at Old Warden Bedfordshire 6th August 2011.

Added:
6th Sep 2011 by Diane Earl

Subjects:
Biology, Environmental Science

Key Stages:
Foundation, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, Key Stage 4+

Geocode: Old Warden Bedfordshire

Keywords:
fly blowfly insect

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