Blowfly
Definition
Common name for Calliphoridae. The female lays eggs in moist orifices (mouth, nose, eyes, wounds); eggs hatch in 8 to 24 hours in warm weather.
Related terms
- Accumulated Degree Days (ADD)
- The sum of daily mean temperatures above a threshold (usually 0 °C) over a period of interest. Used as a measure of...
- Calliphoridae
- The blowfly family: metallic-coloured flies that are typically the earliest colonisers of exposed remains. Forensically important genera include Calliphora, Lucilia, Chrysomya, and...
- Carrion Succession
- The predictable, roughly sequential replacement of insect communities on a decomposing body, driven by changing chemical substrate. Not a strict relay with...
- Flesh Fly
- Common name for Sarcophagidae. Unlike blowflies, the female deposits first-instar larvae directly, so casework often shows live maggots without an egg stage...
- Forensic Entomology
- The application of insect biology to legal investigations, most commonly using the developmental stage and species of insects colonising human remains to...
- Larval Instar
- One of three larval stages (L1, L2, L3) separated by moults. Each instar has distinctive mouth-hook and posterior spiracle morphology that allows...
- Muscidae
- A large family including house flies (Musca domestica) and stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans). Non-metallic, typically dull grey or brown. Secondary or later...
- Post-Mortem Interval (PMI)
- The time elapsed between death and discovery or examination of remains. PMI estimation draws on multiple disciplines: soft tissue decomposition stage, insect...
- Sarconecrophagous
- Insects that feed directly on the corpse tissue, such as blowflies and flesh flies. The primary first-wave colonisers of carrion.
- Sarcophagidae
- The flesh fly family. Grey or black with longitudinal thoracic stripes and a chequered abdomen. Larviparous (deposit live larvae), so colonisation appears...
- Sarcosaprophagous
- Insects that feed on the corpse and on the by-products of decomposition, including some Muscidae and dermestid beetles in later waves.
Explained in
- Forensic Entomology: Insects of Forensic Importance and ApplicationsCommon name for Calliphoridae. The female lays eggs in moist orifices (mouth, nose, eyes, wounds); eggs hatch in 8 to 24 hours in warm weather.