Flesh Fly

This photo is most notable for the fly having been chilly enough (“winter” in Florida) that it held still for me to get within 3 inches and get a photograph. I cannot normally catch flies, so to speak, with my macro rig.

The 108 genera, and 2500 species, of flesh flies eat carrion, dung, and decaying matter, but they also lay their maggots on the open wounds of live animals, hence the name. They are differentiated from house flies (Musca sp.) by the three longitudinal stripes (instead of four) on their abdomen.

From the Wikipedia article: “Generally, only males of this family can reliably be identified to species, and then only by examination of dissected genitalia.”

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