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Lucilia sericata

Lateral view

Australian distribution

Taxonomy

Family: Calliphoridae

Subfamily: Luciliinae

Genus: Lucilia Robineau-Desvoidy 1830

Species: sericata (Meigen 1826)

 

The first- and second-instar larvae were described by Erzinçlioglu (1989) and the third larval instar by Erzinçlioglu (1989) and Holloway (1991). The egg and puparium were described by Liu & Greenberg (1989).

Biology

Lucilia sericata, or the common greenbottle fly, is found in many parts of the world. It has been introduced into Australia from Europe. The species is of forensic and veterinary importance worldwide. The species will often be the first to colonise a corpse, and thus provides a good indication of the post mortem interval (Anderson 1995). It is also implicated in sheep strike in many parts of the world (Ashworth and Wall 1994). In Australia, it is unlikely that L. sericata plays a major role in myiasis as it has rarely been observed infesting live animals (Waterhouse and Paramonov 1950). However, the sister species, Lucilia cuprina, is the main sheep fly in Australia. Lucilia sericata can be distinguished from L. cuprina by a clump of paravertical setulae (as opposed to a single setula) on the head, and a hairy metasternal area on the ventral surface of the thorax (Holloway 1991).

Distribution

Lucilia sericata is largely coastal in distribution and is found in the cooler southern parts of the country. It has been recorded from the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

Relevant Literature

Anderson, G.S. (1995) The use of insects in death investigations: an analysis of cases in British Columbia over a five year period. Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal 28, 277-292.


Ashworth, J.R. and Wall, R. (1994) Responses of the sheep blowflies Lucilia sericata and L. cuprina to odour and the development of semiochemical baits. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 8, 303-309.


Erzinçlioglu, Y.Z. (1989) The early larval instars of Lucilia sericata and Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae): myiasis blowflies of Africa and Australia. Journal of Natural History 23, 1133-1136.


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.


Holloway B.A. (1991) Morphological characters to identify adult Lucila sericata (Meigen, 1826) and L. cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 18, 413-420.

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


Waterhouse, D.F. and Paramonov, S.J. (1950) The status of the two species of Lucilia (Diptera, Calliphoridae) attacking sheep in Australia. Australian Journal of Scientific Research. Series B. 3, 310-336.