Taxonomy
Family:
Muscidae
Subfamily:
Muscinae
Genus:
Muscina
Robineau-Desvoidy 1830
Species: stabulans (Fallén 1817)
The egg, first- and second-instar larvae and the puparium were described by Liu & Greenberg (1989). The third-instar larva was described by Ishijima (1967) and Liu and Greenberg (1989).
Biology
Adult Muscina stabulans
are common in areas where decaying organic matter is
present. They are also common inhabitants of houses. Larvae
feed on a variety of decaying matter, including fungi,
fruit, excrement and carrion (Smith, 1986).
The species
has been involved
in cases of human myiasis (Zumpt, 1965). Illingworth
(1927) found the species
to be attracted to a cat carcass in California, however did
not rear any larvae. The failure of the adults to emerge was
probably due to the presence of predatory beetles, which may
have consumed all the pupae.
In Spain, the species is readily attracted to chicken carcasses
(Arnaldos et al., 2004. Benecke (1998) collected
pupae of the species on human remains,
and Nuorteva (1974) reared the
larvae from a blood-stained shirt.
Distribution
Muscina
stabulans probably occurs throughout all Australian
states and territories.
Relevant Literature
Arnaldos, M.I., Romera, E., Presa, J.J., Luna, A. and Garcia, M.D. (2004) Studies on seasonal arthropod succession on carrion in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. International Journal of Legal Medicine 118,197-205.
Ishijima, H. (1967) Revision of the third stage larvae of synanthropic flies of Japan (Diptera: Anthomyiidae, Muscidae, Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae). Japanese Journal of Sanitary Zoology 18, 47-100.
Nuorteva, P. (1974) Age determination of blood stains
in a decaying shirt by entomological means. Forensic Sciences
3, 89-94.
Smith, K.G.V. (1986) A manual of forensic entomology, Ithaca,
New York, Cornell University Press.