Behavior
Adults of Lucilia illustris feed on flowering plants. However, the female also needs a protein source to mature her eggs and become sexually responsive. Mating will commonly take place in close range of where the eggs will be deposited. The species' sex ratio is generally equal, but around an egg laying vector, the females can be found in masses. Approximately 200 eggs will be laid in a single batch of an adult female, and each individual female can lay up to 10 batches in her three-week life span. Eggs will primarily be found on a carcass, but can also occasionally be in open wounds or excrement. Temperature is a crucial factor in the development time of the blow fly and this particular species. At 25 degrees Celsius, the eggs will take about 24 hours to hatch.
Upon hatching, Lucilia illustris enters its larval stages of development, commonly called a maggot. As in other green bottle fly species, their larvae are carrion feeders and will generally infest any decomposing corpse. Larvae go through three separate developmental stages called instars. Lucilia illustris typically prefers cooler weather, and when ambient temperatures are around 7.7 degrees Celsius, L. illustris will usually be the largest group of maggots on a corpse. Between each instar, the Lucilia illustris larvae will molt. The current instar of the larvae can be determined by examining the respiratory organs, called spiracles. If the maggot mass is successfully identified, tissue loss from the corpse can also be used to determine which instar the larvae are in.
After the third instar is complete, the larvae will go underground and pupate. In ideal conditions, an adult Lucilia illustris fly will emerge from the pupa on an average of 10 days. The adult form of Lucilia illustris attracts rapidly to carrion. Lucilia illustris larvae can reach the third instar in as few as fourteen days from the time of death.
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