Shiny blue bottle fly
The shiny blue bottle fly is a fairly big fly with a gleaming metallic blue tummy. It is one of nature's clean-up crew, because its maggots eat dead animals. It likes cool weather and is busiest in spring and autumn.
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Fun facts
It spends the winter as a grown-up fly and sometimes comes into houses to stay warm.
In a good year it can have around 17 families, one after another.
From egg to grown-up fly takes only about 17 to 19 days.
Scientists who study insects can use this fly to work out how long ago an animal died.
Most asked questions about Shiny blue bottle fly
?Is the shiny blue bottle fly dangerous?
It does not bite or sting, but it can carry germs, so it should not walk on your food.
?Why do shiny blue bottle flies come into houses?
They spend the winter as grown-ups and sometimes look for a warm place inside.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Cynomya cadaverina
- Named by
- Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Calliphoridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Calliphoridae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Cynomya cadaverina (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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