Lucilia coeruleiviridis
| Lucilia coeruleiviridis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Calliphoridae |
| Genus: | Lucilia |
| Species: | L. coeruleiviridis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Lucilia coeruleiviridis Macquart, 1855 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Lucilia coeruleiviridis, formerly Phaenecia coeruleiviridis, is commonly known as the green bottle fly, because of its metallic blue-green thorax and abdomen. L. coeruleiviridis was first discovered by French entomologist Justin Pierre Marie Macquart in 1855. It belongs to the Calliphoridae family and is one of many forensically important Diptera, as it is often found on decaying substances. L. coeruleiviridis is one of the most ubiquitous blow fly species in the southeastern United States, particularly in the spring and fall months.
The name L. caeruleiviridis may be a contraction of the Latin words "caerulei" and "viridis". Respectively, these words mean cerulean blue, and greenish and refer to the color of the fly's body.
Like all green bottle flies in its family, the Lucilia coeruleiviridis adult is a metallic blue-green bodied fly. The facial region is white with large red compound eyes. There are also bristles present as well as plumose aristae. The thorax also contains bristles, all of which are evenly paired. Just behind the head, the anterior spiracle is black in color, as is the thoracic posterior spiracle. The meron, just below the wing, is bristled. The veination of the wing is “incomplete” in that it does not reach the wing edge. The basicosta of the wing, or the “shoulder” area, is yellow in coloration, and the calypters—the scale-like structures just below the wing base— are white and of unequal size. The legs of the adult are usually brown to black in color. Like most flies, it also has tarsal pulvilli, or soft pads, at the end of each foot used to “stick” to surfaces, that are slightly yellow in color. As with all insects, coloration is very important in identification of a species, as well as the presence of bristles. Sometimes, the presence of a pair of bristles on the thoracic plate is the only way to identify one species from another.
The white-bodied larvae of L. coeruleiviridis develop in three stages, called instars. In each instar, the larva grows larger and larger. Its only function in this stage is eating until the final growth stage to adult fly. The marked differences between each instar are seen in the spiracles of the maggot on the posterior end. During the first instar, the larva has “Y-V” shaped spiracles. The second instar can be characterized by the shape of the spiracles increasing in size as well as number in that the “Y-V” orientation becomes 2 distinct slits on each side. Likewise, the third instar larva has 3 larger spiracular slits on each side. It has also been seen that the larval stages of Lucilia coeruleiviridis are very similar to those of Lucilia eximia, though no sufficient data has been collected.
...
Wikipedia