greenbottle fly

The greenbottle fly (Lucilia sericata) has laid nearly 2,000 eggs in captivity. However, the total is probably fewer than 1,000 in the natural state when time and energy are lost looking for suitable places to lay. Egg-laying sites, chosen instinctively by the females, are related closely…

…blow flies, principally species of Lucilia. Maggots of L. sericata, for example, feed on small dead animals and in abattoirs and garbage cans; they oviposit in soiled wool around the anus of sheep or in the pus exuding from scratches and wounds, where they are important agents of sheep strike…

Greenbottle (Lucilia) and bluebottle (Calliphora) flies are distinguished by their distinctive coloration and loud buzzing flight. These flies commonly infest carrion or excrement, and the larvae of some species infest and may even kill sheep. The black blow fly (Phormia regina) is another widely distributed species…