Insects · Diptera · Calliphoridae

Sheep-strike Greenbottle

Lucilia sericata

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

The common green bottle fly is a fly of the family Calliphoridae found in most parts of the world and the best known of the many greenbottle species. It is 10-14 mm long, slightly larger than a house fly, and has bright, metallic, blue-green or gold colouring with black markings. It has short, sparse black bristles (setae) on the thorax. The wings are transparent with light brown veins; the legs and antennae are black. The larvae are used in maggot therapy.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

GrasslandDiurnal Solitary Insect Grassland

7countries

Fun facts

Its larvae, reared under sterile conditions, are used medically for maggot therapy: applied to an ulcer, they remove the necrotic tissue with a precision no scalpel can match, disinfect the wound and stimulate healing — a treatment authorised in several countries.
It is one of the reference species in forensic entomology: the age of its larvae allows the time since death to be estimated with considerable accuracy.
In sheep farming it causes flystrike by laying its eggs in damp or soiled wool, a serious health and economic problem.
Its larvae are used medically to clean chronic wounds: they eat only necrotic tissue and spare healthy tissue, and their secretions inhibit bacterial growth. The technique is called maggot therapy, and the FDA regulates the maggots as a medical device.
As early as 1678, Ambroise Paré described the healing of a skull wound in the presence of fly larvae.
It is one of the key species in forensic entomology: the age of its larvae allows the post-mortem interval to be estimated.
At the same time it is a serious pest of sheep, because its larvae attack living tissue as well.
Transgenic strains have been developed that secrete a human growth factor to speed healing.