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Chrysomya rufifacies

Lateral view

Ch. rufifacies habitus

Australian distribution

Taxonomy

Family: Calliphoridae

Subfamily: Chrysomyinae

Genus: Chrysomya Robineau Desvoidy 1830

Species: rufifacies (Macquart 1843)

 

The first-instar larva was described by Liu and Greenberg (1989) and O'Flynn and Moorhouse (1980). The second-instar larva was described by Erzinçlioglu (1984), Liu and Greenberg (1989) and O'Flynn and Moorhouse (1980). The third-instar was described by Erzinçlioglu (1984) and Holloway (1991). Liu and Greenberg (1989) described the egg and puparium.

Biology

Chrysomya rufifacies, also known as the hairy maggot blowfly, is a common species of forensic and agricultural importance in Australia. The species is largely considered a secondary carrion fly, however, in northern areas it may behave as a primary species (O'Flynn and Moorhouse 1979). It prefers to oviposit on sheltered areas of the carcass rather than on wounds.

Second- and third-instar larvae of this species may act as facultative predators of other dipteran larvae. The larvae have a tough, heavily sclerotized skin with spines, which give it a ‘hairy’ appearance. The tough skin also probably protects the larva from canabolism (Baumgartner 1993). The species will also strike sheep in Australia, although it acts mainly as a secondary myiasis fly and is probably incapable of initiating a strike. However, even as a secondary fly, it is extremely harmful to livestock due to it exacerbating strikes caused by other species (Shishido and Hardy 1969).

The larvae pupate either on the surface of the soil or on the carcass itself. This is thought to make them particularly susceptible to attack by parasitoid wasps, however, their thick pupal cases may provide them with some protection (Baumgartner 1993). The larval development of the species has been studied by O’Flynn (1983) and Byrd and Butler (1997).

Distribution

Chrysomya rufifacies is common throughout Australia and has been recorded in all Australian states and territories. Chrysomya rufifacies is likely to be absent from some areas during winter, particularly in the southern areas of its range.

Relevant Literature

Baugartner, D.L. (1993) Review of Chrysomya rufifacies (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Journal of Medical Entomology 30, 338-352.

Byrd, J.H. and Butler, J.F. (1997) Effects of temperature on Chrysomya rufifacies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) development. Journal of Medical Entomology 34, 353-358.


Erzinçlioglu, 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. (1932) The larvae of the Australian sheep blowflies. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 57, 77-91.


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.


Holdaway, F.G. (1933) The synonymy and distribution of Chrysomyia rufifacies (Macq.), an Australian sheep blowfly. Bulletin of Entomological Research 24, 549-560.


Holloway, B.A. (1991) Identification of third-instar larvae of flystrike and carrion-associated blowflies in New Zealand (Diptera: Calliphoridae). New Zealand Entomologist 14, 24-28.


Liu, D. and Greenberg, B. (1989) Immature stages of some flies of forensic importance. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 80-93.

Mackerras, I.M. (1937) The sheep blowfly problem in Australia. Results of some recent investigations. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Pamphlet 66, 1-39.


Mackerras, I.M. and Fuller, M.E. (1937) A survey of the Australian sheep blowflies. Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research 10, 261-270.


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. (1979) Species of Chrysomya as primary flies in carrion. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 18, 31-32.


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.


Roy, D.N. and Siddons, L.B. (1939) On the life history and bionomics of Chrysomyia rufifacies Macq. (Order Diptera, Family Calliphoridae). Parasitology 31, 442-447.

Shishido, W.H. and Hardy, D.E. (1969) Myiasis of new-born calves in Hawaii. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 20, 435-438.