Phormia regina

Phormia regina, the black blow fly, belongs to the blow fly family Calliphoridae and was first described by Johann Wilhelm Meigen. The black blow fly's wings are specialized with a sharp bend. These flies are also have well-developed calypters. Blow flies generally are about the size of a house fly or a little larger, and many are metallic blue or green in color. Key characteristics of this species include black gena, mostly white calypters, and anterior thoracic spiracles that appear to be orange yellow due to being surrounded by bright orange setae. P. regina is especially important to forensic entomology. Female P. regina, like other blow flies in the family Calliphoridae, oviposit their eggs on carrion, where they hatch. The larvae develop through three instar stages until pupation. Adult black blow flies aggregate on feces in order to mate. The success of these mating interactions has been studied appears related to size and diet of the adult flies. Following successful mating encounters, the adult females are then attracted to decaying material rather quickly for oviposition, allowing forensic entomologists to use development stages of larva as a clue in determining an approximate time of death. P. regina are extremely common in the United States and other areas in North America. Combined with their importance in forensic entomology, these flies have been relatively well studied, particularly for variables affecting their development.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.