Blowfly - Family Calliphoridae
This page contains pictures and information about Blowflies that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 8mm
- Blowflies are also known as Bluebottles or Green-bottles. Most of the flies in this family are metallic green or blue colour. Some others are mixtures of brown and and dark grey. They are medium to large in size. There are the bristles on the both sides of their thorax and abdomen tip.
- Adult Blowfly feeds on nectar, honey dew and other sweet liquid, or liquid products of organic decomposition. Most Blowfly adults active during day time.
- Blowfly larvae usually live in carrion or dung, which help for decomposition. Some species are parasitic on earthworms or land snails. Some live in termites or ants nest.
- Eastern Golden Haired Blowfly
- Calliphora stygia, subfamily Calliphorinae, body length 10mm
- The fly is large in size, with hairy body, blue thorax and golden brown abdomen. The fly is one of the earliest flies to visit a corpse. Their larvae mainly breed in carrion.
- Reference:
- 1. Flies - family Calliphoridae - lifeunseen.com, by Nick Monaghan
- 2. Calliphora stygia (Fabricius) - Australian Insect Common Names, CSIRO 2005
- 3. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p375.
- Bluebodied Blowfly, Blue-striped Blowfly, Lesser Brown Blowfly
- Calliphora augur, subfamily Calliphorinae, body length 10mm
- This blowfly look similar to the species above but with steel-blue area at the top of abdomen. Please also check this page for more information.
- Bluebodied Blowfly
- Calliphora dubia, subfamily Calliphorinae, body length 10mm
- Reference:
- 1. Calliphora dubia - Australian Insect Common Names, CSIRO 2005
- Green Blowfly, Green-bottle
- Male Female
- Lucilia sp, subfamily Calliphorinae, body length 8mm
- The Blowfly feeds on nectar. It is the major pest species in sheep farming. Their larvae breed mostly on living sheep and corpse. The fly is one of the first flies to lay its eggs in a corpse. The fly is green metallic colour, silvery head and red eyes. Please click on here for more information.
- Greenbottle
- ? Lucilia sp, subfamily Calliphorinae, body length 8mm
- Green Hairy Maggot Blowfly, Bluebottle
- Male Female
- Chrysomya rufifacies, subfamily Chrysomyinae, body length 8mm
- The fly is medium in size with metallic green body, with a distinct blue hue when viewed under bright sunlit conditions. It has a silvery head and red eyes. It has the board and round abdomen. We have more pictures and information in this page.
- Bluebottle
- Chrysomya sp., subfamily Chrysomyinae, body length 8mm
- This fly look the same as the species about except dark blue in colour. Could be the same species.
- Snail Parasitic Blowfly
- Male Female
- Amenia imperialis., subfamily Ameniinae, body length 15mm
- This large Blowfly is metallic dark blue-green in colour with the bright orange-yellow colour face. On the thorax and abdomen there are the shiny white spots patterns. Different individuals may have slightly different patterns. This fly is nectar feeder and assist the flower plants for pollination. We have a lot of pictures and information in this page.
- Unknown Blow Fly
- ? sp., body length 8mm
- Picture taken in Alexandra Hill near the creek during early summer.
- Reference:
- 1. Calliphoridae - Insects of Townsville, Australia - Graeme Cocks, 2004.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p781.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p375.
