Blow Fly Identification & Prevention

Essential in nature is the decay process of carcasses. Blow flies are often the first insects to arrive after an animal dies.

Description

Blow flies and bottle flies are medium-sized, robust flies approximately 1/5 of an inch in length and are easily identified by their metallic appearance. Coloration varies mainly from blue, green, and gold to shiny black.

Biology And Behavior

• Blow/bottle flies will lay their eggs on animal carcasses and manure as well as decaying vegetables, grass clippings, and leaves.
• Their eggs are laid on a suitable decaying organic material, and the larvae hatch out and burrow beneath the surface where they feed.
• After a few days of feeding, larvae emerge and crawl a short distance away from the breeding source and burrow into the soil to pupate. Adults emerge several days later.
• The entire blow/bottle fly life cycle can take from 10 days to three weeks, depending on the environmental conditions.
• Forensic entomologists track these environmental conditions and compare larval development from maggot specimens collected from bodies to help determine the time of death.
• A single mouse carcass can produce over 100 adult flies.