Flesh fly, Sarcophaga carnaria
Flesh fly, Sarcophaga carnaria © lofaesofa, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic
Members of the family Sarcophagidae are known as flesh flies, some of which lay their eggs in the open wounds of mammals, hence their name. Others breed in carrion, dung or decaying material and some members are insect parasites. They look like house flies but are characterised by dark stripes on the thorax (section behind the head) and a light and dark grey checkered abdomen. Sarcophaga carnaria is a European species and found in the UK, the larvae of which feed mostly on earthworms.
