HORTICULTURE

Detailed explanation-1: -It is widely held that blow flies, in general, and Phaenicia sericata (Meigen), in particular, are not active at night and do not lay eggs during that time.

Detailed explanation-2: -Adult female blow flies arrive within minutes to lay eggs on a cadaver. Each deposits about 250 eggs in the natural openings of the body and open wounds. The eggs hatch into first-stage maggots within 24 hours.

Detailed explanation-3: -Blow-fly eggs, usually yellowish or white in color, are approximately 1.5 mm x 0.4 mm, and, when laid, look like rice balls. While the female blow-fly typically lays 150-200 eggs per batch, she is usually iteroparous, laying around 2, 000 eggs during the course of her life.

Detailed explanation-4: -Blow fly life cycle typically takes 3 – 4 weeks depending on the species. The life cycle is broken up into three distinct stages, the egg, the larvae and the adult. The larva stage is the most readily recognized and when all the food consumption is accomplished. The larvae feed on wet, living, or dead flesh.

Detailed explanation-5: -In 1855, French physician Bergeret d’Arbois used insects to establish an accurate time of death based on the succession of insect colonizers to a corpse.