Blow, Bottle, and Flesh Fly

Blow and bottle flies are actually two different species of flies, similar enough to group together for most purposes. Many different colors are possible, but they will have a metallic sheen to them. In addition they range in size, but don’t exceed 5/8″ long. These flies are very good fliers, and prefer to feed on dead carcasses. They have an uncanny ability to find recently dead animals. So good, in fact, that some stages of their larvae are used by pathologists to determine a corpse’s time of death. Doctor’s also use them to clean wounds, since they will only eat decaying flesh. When rotting flesh isn’t around, they will get into things like garbage, excrement and other sources of filth. Their feeding habits make them a carrier of disease, as they can get inside the house and infect items through regurgitation or laying their eggs. Fly larvae are commonly called maggots, which hatch out and live on food sources. An interesting fact about the maggots is that they can be predators of other larvae, or even eat each other. All of these flies get more active as the weather warms up, and tend to rest when it’s cold. Flesh flies are similar in their feeding habits, and their nuisance to humans. Duller coloration and black/gray markings on their back is the easiest way to distinguish them. Flesh flies generally prefer food in a more advanced state of decay, and will eat leftovers from the bottle and blow flies. Maggots from the flesh flies have a couple of small differences from those of the bottle and blow fly. Flesh fly maggots are laid in their larval stage onto a food source, rather than being laid as eggs. Furthermore, flesh fly maggots will leave a food source and can be seen crawling around on their own, blow and bottle fly larva actually burrow into their food source. Despite their biological differences, these flies’ similar habits make them comparable pests.