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Piophila casei

Taxonomy

Family: Piophilidae

Subfamily: Piophilinae

Genus: Piophila Fallén 1810

Species: casei (Linnaeus 1758)

 

The egg, first-, second- and third-instar larvae and the puparium were described by Liu and Greenberg (1989). The third-instar larva has also been described by Sukontason et al. (2001).

Biology

Piophila casei, commonly referred to as the cheese-skipper or bacon fly, is a serious pest in the meat and cheese industries. The larvae have the characteristic escape behaviour of jumping up to 10 centimetres into the air (Smith 1986).  They curl into a C-shape and grasp their anal papillae in their mouthparts, then use muscular tension to spring back into their elongated form. Piophilids are typically recorded at carrion during late stages of decomposition,when carcasses are at a drier state. Typically, this period corresponds with a corpse that has been exposed for 3 to 6 months, and high levels of fatty acids and caseic products are present (Smith 2008).

Distribution

This species is one of the few cosmopolitan piophilids. Due to its synanthropic behaviour, P. casei has accompanied humans to nearly all parts of the globe. It is found throughout Australia, although due to its synanthropic behaviour, it is in greatest abundance around human settlements.

Relevant Literature

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

McAlpine, J.F. (1977) A revised classification of the Piophilidae, including 'Neottiophilidae' and 'Thyreophoridae' (Diptera: Schizophora). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 109, 1-66.

Smith, K.G.V. (1986) A manual of forensic entomology, Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press.

Sukontason, K.L., Sukontason, K., Piangjai, S., Choochote, W., Vogtsberger, R. and Olson, J.K. (2001) Scanning electron microscopy of the third-instar Piophila casei (Diptera: Piophilidae), a fly species of forensic importance. Journal of Medical Entomology 38, 756-759.