Secondary screwworm fly
The secondary screwworm is a blowfly with a shiny blue-green body and a red-orange head. It is drawn to dead animals and rubbish. Its maggots help clean up nature, but they can also get into the wounds of animals.
How big is it?
How long is it?
How big is Secondary screwworm fly compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It has three black stripes down its shiny blue-green back.
It is called secondary because its maggots usually move into wounds after other flies have been there first.
It is often found at markets and slaughterhouses in warm countries.
It is an important clean-up worker, helping dead animals break down.
Most asked questions about Secondary screwworm fly
?What does the secondary screwworm eat?
Dead animals and rubbish. That makes it an important cleaner in nature.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Cochliomyia macellaria
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Calliphoridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Calliphoridae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
- Also known as
- Secondary screwworm
Where the facts come from
- Cochliomyia macellaria (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 xpda. CC BY-SA 4.0, 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.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Housefly
New World screwworm fly
Lovebug
Tsetse fly
Common fruit fly
Asian tiger mosquito
Human flea
Grey house spider
Australian hornet
Eastern subterranean termite
Brazilian yellow scorpion
Red poultry mite