Lateral view

Australian distribution

Male genitalia (phallus), lateral view

Male genitalia (cercus, surstylus), lateral view

Taxonomy

Subfamily: Sarcophaginae

Genus: Sarcophaga Meigen 1826

Subgenus: Boettcherisca Rohdendorf 1937

Species: peregrina Robineau-Desvoidy 1830 (Myophora)

Biology

Sarcophaga peregrina has been observed to breed in carrion, and has been commonly found attracted to faeces, garbage and fish baits (Das and Dasgupta, 1982; Bänziger and Pape 2004; Pérez-Moreno et al., 2006). This species has also been documented in cases of human oral and nasal myiasis (Kanimura and Arakawa, 1986). Studies have documented S. peregrina as an occasional parasite of earthworms and the locust Chortoicetes terminifera, along with being a facultative predator of lepidopteran pupae (Xue et al., 2011). The first-, second- and third-instar larvae and puparium were described by Cantrell (1981; referred to as Boettcherisca peregrina). This species is the only Australian representative of the subgenus Boettcherisca.

Distribution

AUSTRALASIAN/OCEANIAN – (Australia – Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia), ORIENTAL, PALAEARCTIC.

Relevant Literature

Bänziger, H., and Pape, T. (2004) Flowers, faeces and cadavers: natural feeding and laying habits of flesh flies in Thailand (Diptera: Sarcophagidae, Sarcophaga spp.). Journal of Natural History 38, 1677-1694.

Cantrell, B.K. (1981) The immature stages of some Australian Sarcophaginae (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 20, 237-248.

Das, S.K., and Dasgupta, B. (1982) Seasonal occurance of blow-flies and flesh-flies in Calcutta  Oriental Insects 16(1), 119-128.

Kanimura, K., and Arakawa, R. (1986) A case report on nasal myiasis due to the flesh fly Boettcherisca peregrina. Japanese Journal of Sanitary Zoology 37(2), 163-164.

Pérez-Moreno, S., Marcos-García, M.A., and Rojo, S. (2006) Comparative morphology of early stages of two Mediterranean Sarcophaga Meigen, 1826 (Diptera; Sarcophagidae) and a review of the feeding habits of Palaearctic species. Micron 37(2), 169-179.

Robinaeu-Desvoidy, J.B. Essai sur les myodaires. Mémoires Présentés par divers Savants à l’Académie. Royal des Sciences l’Institut de France 2, 1–813.

Xue, W.-Q., Verves, Y.G., and Du, J. (2011) A review of subtribe Boettcheriscina Verves 1990 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), with descriptions of a new species and genus from China. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 47(3-4), 303-329.