Blow Flies
family of suborder “Brachyceran Flies“
1 family, 2 species
This article summarizes information about blow flies, specifically focusing on their diversity, forensic importance, and identification. Blow flies are a large family of flies with about 1,900 known species, primarily found in the Neotropics, Africa, and Southern Europe. They are the first insects to come in contact with carrion due to their ability to detect dead animal matter from a distance. Blow flies are commonly used in forensic science to estimate the time since death of human corpses based on their development stages. Various species, such as Calliphora vicina and Cynomya mortuorum, are important in forensic entomology. The article also provides a list of resources for identifying blow flies.
Hierarchy
species of family “Blow Flies“
1 species
Diversity#
About 1,900 species of blow flies are known, with 120 species in the Neotropics, and a large number of species in Africa and Southern Europe.The typical habitats for blow flies are temperate to tropical areas that provide a layer of loose, damp soil and litter where larvae may thrive and pupate.
Genera#
Sources: MYIA, FE, Nomina, A/O DCThis is a selected list of genera from the Palearctic, Nearctic, Malaysia (Japan) and Australasia:
Forensic importance#
Blow flies are usually the first insects to come in contact with carrion because they have the ability to smell dead animal matter from up to 1 mi (1.6 km) away. Upon reaching the carrion, females deposit eggs on it. Since development is highly predictable if the ambient temperature is known, blow flies are considered a valuable tool in forensic science. Blow flies are used forensically to estimate the minimum post mortem interval (PMImin) for human corpses. Traditional estimations of time since death are generally unreliable after 72 hours and often entomologists are the only officials capable of generating an accurate approximate time interval. The specialized discipline related to this practice is known as forensic entomology.In addition to being used to estimate the PMImin, assuming colonization occurred after death, blow fly specimens found infesting a human corpse are used to determine if the corpse was relocated or if the individual ingested narcotics prior to death.Calliphora vicina and Cynomya mortuorum are important flies of forensic entomology. Other forensically important Calliphoridae are Phormia regina, Calliphora vomitoria, Calliphora livida, Lucilia cuprina, Lucilia sericata, Lucilia illustris, Chrysomya rufifacies, Chrysomya megacephala, Cochliomyia macellaria, and Protophormia terraenovae. One myth states that species from the genus Lucilia can sense death and show up right before it even occurs.
Identification#
Fritz Konrad Ernst Zumpt Calliphorinae, in Lindner, E. Fliegen Palaearkt. Reg. 64i, 140 p. (1956) Fan, C. T. Key to the common synanthropic flies of China. Peking [= Beijing]. xv + 330 p. In Chinese but really excellent illustrations. (1965). Kano, R. and Shinonaga, S. Calliphoridae (Insecta: Diptera) (Fauna Japonica), Tokyo Biogeographical Society of Japan, Tokyo.( 1968). In English. Lehrer, A. Z., Diptera. Familia Calliphoridae. In: Fauna R.S.R., Insecta, vol. XI,(12), Edit. R.S.R., Bucuresti, 1972, 245 p. In Romanian. Rognes, K. Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica, Volume 24. E. J. Brill/Scandinavian Science Press Ltd. Leiden.(1991).
External links#
Media related to Calliphoridae at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Calliphoridae at Wikispecies Image Gallery Secondary screwworm on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website
This article summarizes information about blow flies, specifically focusing on their diversity, forensic importance, and identification. Blow flies are a large family of flies with about 1,900 known species, primarily found in the Neotropics, Africa, and Southern Europe. They are the first insects to come in contact with carrion due to their ability to detect dead animal matter from a distance. Blow flies are commonly used in forensic science to estimate the time since death of human corpses based on their development stages. Various species, such as Calliphora vicina and Cynomya mortuorum, are important in forensic entomology. The article also provides a list of resources for identifying blow flies.
Ancestry Graph
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