common green bottle fly

Common and widespread

Three or four generations per year. Early spring to late fall.

Warm moist climates; common around farms, slaughterhouses, and garbage cans.

Common green bottle fly is a medium-sized blowfly. It occurs throughout the world on every continent except Greenland and Antarctica. It is common in Minnesota. It is found in a wide variety of habitats but prefers warm, moist places. It is common around farms, slaughterhouses, and garbage cans.

Adults are ⅜″ to ½″ long, slightly larger than a house fly.

The thorax is metallic bluish-green, gold, or both. It is covered with numerous short, black, bristle-like hairs (setae), and several parallel rows of long black bristles. Three grooves across the thorax delineate the three thoracic sections. On the middle section (scutum), the two rows of bristles closest to the middle each have 3 bristles.

The abdomen is similar in color to the thorax.

The face is silvery. The eyes are red. The antennae are black. The mouthparts are yellowish.

The legs are black.

The wings are clear and have light brown veins.

Partially decomposed animal tissue in dead fish and other animals, dung, and garbage containing animal matter. Live sheep.

Males usually feed on flower nectar; females also feed on animal tissue

The female deposits a mass of up to 180 white or pale yellow eggs in carrion, dung, or garbage. Over the space of 3 weeks the female will lay a total of 2,000 to 3,000 eggs in 9 or 10 batches. The number and size of batches depends on the temperature. When the eggs hatch the maggots begin feeding on the material to which they are attached. They reach full size in 4 to 9 days, enter a pre-pupal stage, then burrow into the soil. In 7 to 115 days, depending on soil temperature, the adults emerge. Over the next 48 hours the body hardens and the wings become functional. Mating begins 3 to 8 days after emergence. Adults can travel many miles searching for carrion or another suitable breeding location.

In Minnesota there are 3 or 4 generations per year. The last generation overwinters in the soil as larva.

Sources: 7, 24, 29, 30, 82.

Forensics
This is often one of the first insects to visit a corpse, sometimes within minutes of death. Forensic scientists use the development of the larva of this species to determine the age of a corpse.

Maggot Therapy
Larvae are used on humans to painlessly remove dead or decaying tissue from wounds while leaving healthy tissue untouched and secreting a chemical that promotes tissue regeneration.

This species was formerly classified as Phaenicia sericata.

Location: Woodbury, MN