Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Small
Diet: Omnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Worldwide
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Common

About

The common green bottle fly flashes iridescent emerald and gold across its thorax and abdomen — a metallic sheen produced by structural coloration rather than pigment. Its larvae are used in medical maggot therapy to debride infected wounds, making it one of the few insects with a direct therapeutic role in human medicine.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2.
juvenile
An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3.
subadult
A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4.
adult
Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Calliphoridae
Genus: Lucilia
Species: Lucilia sericata