myiasis | Bugging You From San Juan Island

Bubbles

Posted on July 12, 2024 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

Well, this little fly got my attention yesterday. We had a contest. The fly bet it could outlast my grip on my phone as I took video of the bubble blowing. We called a tie somewhere around the 4 minute mark when my hand was shaking and I was about to drop my phone. The fly, quite satisfied with its performance, waltzed about on the mint leaf and posed for a few still photos, after I got the blood flowing into my hand again.

This is a Black Blow Fly (Phormia regina) in the family Calliphoridae. These flies are found ranging throughout North America, Eurasia, and Hawaii. They are a species of importance in the science of Forensics. Blow flies are attracted to dung and carrion, and when found on a corpse, they can be used to estimate time of death. The larvae or maggots of sterile blow flies are also used in the cleaning of wounds, removing decaying flesh and secreting antimicrobial peptides as they feed (Díaz-Roa et. al. 2018). Occasionally, they can contribute to secondary myiasis “fly-strike” of wounds in livestock, wildlife, and pets.

Phormia regina Fly – San Juan Island, WA 07.11.2024

Why is the fly blowing bubbles? It’s not black bubblegum. I’m not sure why the bubbles were black in color. Perhaps something to do with what the fly had been eating. The fly is blowing bubbles to cool down and it’s actually called BUBBLING. Take a look at Ray Cannon’s Nature Notes and you’ll learn it’s part of an evaporative process where the fly moves a droplet of fluid in and out and of their buccopharyngeal cavity over and again before eventually swallowing it (Gomes et al., 2018, Cannon, R. 2020).

Flies aren’t the only group that practices bubbling. Various species of Hymenoptera also use this method to cool themselves and also to evaporate the excess water from the food (nectar) they’ve consumed (Portman et. al. 2021).

Thanks for stopping by!

References and Further Reading

Cannon, Ray. 2020. Flies Blowing Bubbles. Ray Cannon’s Nature Notes. https://rcannon992.com/2020/09/07/flies-blowing-bubbles/

Díaz-Roa A, Patarroyo MA, Bello FJ, Da Silva PI Jr. 2018. Sarconesin: Sarconesiopsis magellanica Blowfly Larval Excretions and Secretions With Antibacterial Properties. Front Microbiol. Sep 28;9:2249. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02249. PMID: 30323791; PMCID: PMC6172317. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6172317/

Gomes, G., Köberle, R., Von Zuben, C. J., & Andrade, D. V. 2018. Droplet bubbling evaporatively cools a blowfly. Scientific reports, 8 (1), 1-7.

Murray, T. 2023. Species Phormia regina – Black Blow Fly. Bugguide. https://bugguide.net/node/view/53678

Portman, Z., Ascher, J. & Cariveau, D. 2021. Nectar concentrating behavior by bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila). Apidologie 52, 1169–1194. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13592-021-00895-1

Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata)

Posted on July 14, 2019 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

This shiny green bottle fly, a blow fly in the family Calliphoridae, is widely distributed across North America. A frequent visitor to garbage, feces, and carrion, it can mechanically transmit disease, but it is probably more well known for other notable roles it plays in veterinary, medical, and forensic science.

In veterinary science, Lucilia sericata can cause loss of livestock when animals are affected by the larval form of the fly in a condition known as myiasis or fly strike. Animals affected by fly strike can die when fly larva invade living tissue if they are not treated.

In July of 2016, I helped rescue some turkeys someone had dumped near our home. Upon closer examination of the photos I had taken of them, I was able to see a wound one of the turkeys had. The veterinarian who examined the turkey determined there was serious tissue damage due to fly strike and the turkey was euthanized. So, all animals (even birds) are subject to this condition. Good animal husbandry includes regular examination of animals and treating wounds promptly, with appropriate wound care/dressing to protect the animal from fly contact.

In medical science, Green bottle fly larva are known for their role in wound care. In a practice called maggot therapy, larva of Lucilia sericata are placed on an infected wound to clean out the necrotic tissue. Interestingly, as the larvae feed on the dying tissue, they secrete enzymes that are bactericidal, further aiding in healing the wound.

Finally, in forensic science, the timing of the development of this fly has been adapted and well utilized for establishing a time of death, aiding in law enforcement investigations when a body is found.

If you’d like to read more about this shiny little fly, please check out the links below.

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/livestock/flies/lucilia_sericata.htm

htthttps://bugguide.net/node/view/53775

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/criid/2018/5067569/

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d1a4/97c592968996ff73b91740b25e9005f09433.pdf