Lucilia Cuprina - Stages of Life

Stages of Life

Lucilia cuprina, like all flies are holometabolous, meaning they go through a complete metamorphosis.

Flies have four stages of growth: egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. Adult L. cuprina arrive early on carrion, appearing hours or even minutes after death. There, on the fresh body, they lay their eggs. The eggs then hatch into larvae which begin to feed and grow. After about five days, larvae enter the pupal stage. This is said to be an inactive stage, although many changes occur during this part of the flies’ life cycle. The pupa does not feed, but rather uses the time inside the casing to change from rice-like larvae into an adult fly with wings and six legs. The whole process can take anywhere from eleven to twenty-one days depending on environmental conditions including temperature and nutritional availability. In most cases warmer temperatures and better nutrition lead to a faster life cycle. L. cuprina can have between four and eight generations per year depending mostly on temperature.