Lateral view

Male frons width (blue arrow) in respect to anterior ocellus (red arrow) in Calliphora augur (upper) and Calliphora dubia (bottom)

Australian distribution

Taxonomy

Family: Calliphoridae

Subfamily: Calliphorinae

Genus: Calliphora Robineau-Desvoidy 1830

Subgenus: Paracalliphora Townsend 1916

Species: augur (Fabricius 1775)

 

The first- and second-instar larvae were described by O'Flynn and Moorhouse (1983) and the third-instar larva by Wallman (2001). Erzinçlioglu (1984) described all three larval instars of this species.

Biology

Calliphora augur is a common blowfly in south-eastern Australia, where it is agriculturally and forensically important. It is the sister species to the western analogue, Calliphora dubia. Typically, this species will visit a carcass early in the decomposition process and it has been recorded as a myiasis fly of sheep (Watts et al., 1976). 

Calliphora augur is ovoviviparous, laying approximately fifty larvae sheathed in a chorion (egg shell) which hatch almost instantaneously (Norris 1959). There are also reports in the literature that this species is facultatively oviparous (Johnston and Tiegs 1922, Meier et al. 1999). Larval developmental data have been obtained for C. augur by Day (2006), Day and Wallman (2006) and O'Flynn (1983).  It is perhaps the most forensically important fly in New South Wales, where it was utilised in over 30% of cases between 1984 and 2001 (Levot 2003), and consequently larval development of this species is quite well understood (Day 2006; O'Flynn 1983).

Calliphora augur is morphologically similar to C. dubia, with yellow pruinescence on the 5th abdominal tergite, whereas there is vivid white pruinescence in C. dubia. Male C. augur can be readily distinguished by the minimum frons width being less than twice the width of the anterior ocellus, whereas in male C. dubia the minimum frons width is twice the width of the anterior ocellus (see picture). To determine the gender of your fly click here.

Distribution

Calliphora augur is common throughout south-eastern Australia, being found in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. It occurs sympatrically with Calliphora dubia throughout eastern South Australia, Kangaroo Island and western New South Wales and Victoria (Wallman & Adams 1997).

It is generally absent during winter, becoming most abundant during early to mid-summer. It may experience a population decline during summer in the northern areas of its distribution (Johnson 2007).

Relevant Literature

Archer, M.S. and Elgar, M.A. (2003) Yearly activity patterns in southern Victoria (Australia) of seasonally active carrion insects. Forensic Science International 132, 173-176.

Callinan, A.P.L. (1980) Aspects of the ecology of Calliphora augur (Fabricus) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a native Australian blowfly. Australian Journal of Zoology 28, 679-684.

Day, D.M. (2006) Development of immature blowflies and their application to forensic science. MSc Thesis, University of Wollongong.

Day, D.M. and Wallman, J.F. (2006). Influence of substrate tissue type on larval growth in Calliphora augur and Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Journal of Forensic Sciences 51, 657-663.

Erzinclioglu, Y.Z. 1984. Studies on the morphology and taxonomy of the immature stages of Calliphoridae, with analysis of phylogenetic relationships within the family, and between it and other groups in the Cyclorrhapha (Diptera). Ph.D., University of Durham.

Fuller, M.E. (1934) The insect inhabitants of carrion: a study in animal ecology. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Australia, Bulletin 82, 1-63.

Johnson, A.P. (2007) Climatic and biotic influences on the distributions of Calliphora augur and Calliphora dubia (Diptera: Calliphoridae). B. Sc. Honours, University of Wollongong.

Johnston, T.H. and Tiegs, O.W. (1922) Notes on the Biology of some of the More Common Queensland Muscoid Flies. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 77-104.

Lee, D.J. (1968) Human myiasis in Australia. The Medical Journal of Australia 170-172.

Levot, G.W. (2003) Insect fauna used to estimate the post-mortem interval of deceased persons. General and Applied Entomology 32, 31-39.

Meier, R., Kotrba, M. and Ferrar, P. (1999) Ovoviviparity and viviparity in the Diptera. Biological Reviews 74, 199-258.

Norris, K.R. (1959) The ecology of sheep blowflies in Australia. In: Keast, A., Crocker, R.L. and Christian, C.S. (eds.) Biogeography and Ecology in Australia. DW. Junk, Netherlands.

O'Flynn, M.A. (1983). The succession and rate of development of blowflies in southern Queensland and the application of these data to forensic entomology. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 22, 137-148.

O'Flynn, M.A. and Moorhouse, D.E. (1980) Identification of early immature stages of some common Queensland carrion flies. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 19, 53-61.

Wallman, J.F. (2001) Third-instar larvae of common carrion-breeding blowflies of the genus Calliphora (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in South Australia. Invertebrate Taxonomy 15, 37-51.

Wallman, J.F. and Adams, M. (1997) Molecular systematics of Australian carrion-breeding blowflies of the genus Calliphora (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Australian Journal of Zoology 45, 337-356.

Watts, J.E., Muller, M.J., Dyce, A.L. and Norris, K.R. (1976) The species of flies reared from struck sheep in south-eastern Australia. Australian Veterinary Journal 52, 488-489.