Forensic Importance
Blow-flies are usually the first insects to come in contact with carrion because they have the ability to smell dead animal matter from up to 1 mile (1.6 km) away. Upon reaching the carrion, females deposit eggs onto the body. Since development is highly predictable if the ambient temperature is known, blow-flies are considered a valuable tool in forensic science. Traditional estimations of time since death are generally unreliable after 72 hours and often entomologists are the only officials capable of generating an accurate approximate time interval. The specialized discipline related to this practice is known as forensic entomology.
Calliphora vicina and Cynomya mortuorum are important flies of forensic entomology. Other forensically important Calliphoridae are Phormia regina, Calliphora vomitoria, Calliphora livida, Lucilia cuprina, Lucilia sericata, Lucilia illustris, Chrysomya rufifacies, Chrysomya megacephala, Cochliomyia macellaria, and Protophormia terraenovae. One myth states that species from the genus Lucilia can sense death and show up right before it even occurs.
Read more about this topic: Calliphoridae
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