86 



MISC. PUBLICATION 631, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



time under usual conditions. The larva feeds for 4 to 6 days; after a 

 resting and wandering period, which may vary considerably with 

 the seasons, it enters the ground to pupate. The pupal period, under 

 summer conditions in Australia, lasts about a week. The life cycle, 

 from egg to adult, takes about 2 weeks ; another week to 10 days must 

 elapse before the female is ready to oviposit. 



This is the most serious of the Australian sheep maggots, and may 

 be the only one involved in such a role in the winter months. It is 

 known to oviposit in wounds of other animals in other parts of its 

 range. Several records of wound myiasis in man from various parts 

 of Africa have been published. 



PHAENICIA SERICATA (Meigen) 



The Green-Bottle Fly ; the English Sheep Fly 



Synonym. — Lucilia sericata (Meigen). 



Recognition Characters. — Adult : This is a metallic-green fly, often with 

 yellowish or coppery reflections ; the genae are exceptionally wide, being about 



B 



Figure 41. 



-Phaenicia sericata: A, Larva ; B, posterior spiracles or larva. 

 Smit (143, p. 369).) 



(After 



one-third the head height in the male and two-fifths the head height in the female ; 

 the front of the male, at its narrowest, is about one-eighth to one-ninth the head 

 width. The parafrontals of the female bear a number of scattered setulae in 

 several irregular rows. Length, 6-9.5 mm. Larva (fig. 41, A) : The mature larva 

 is about 14 mm. in length, slender and cylindrical, and deep cream tinged with 

 pinkish or purple. The spines are very small. The posterior spiracles (fig. 

 41, B ) are pear-shaped ; the peritreme is thinner and the slits longer and more 

 slender than in P. cuprina. 



Geographical Distribution. — Nearctic Region : Alaska, Yukon, Quebec, On- 

 tario, Alberta, British Columbia, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, 

 Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, 

 District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 

 Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, 

 Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Louisiana, Texas, Montana, Idaho, 

 Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California. 

 Neotropical Region : Mexico, Guatemala, Bermuda, Paraguay, Argentina. Palae- 

 arctic Region: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Portugal, Spain, France, 

 Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Sweden, Denmark, Ger- 

 many, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Rumania, Bulgaria, Greece, 

 European Russia (southern half to Moscow), Azerbaijan, Azores, Canary Islands, 

 Madeira, Morocco, Tangier, Algeria, Tunisia, Libia, Egypt, Turkey, Levant States, 

 Dodecanese, Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Southwest Mongolia, China, Japan. Oriental Re- 

 gion : India (North-West Province), Ceylon. Ethiopian Region: Gold Coast, Eri- 

 trea, Ethiopia, Italian Somaliland, Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Northern and 

 Southern Rhodesia, South- West Africa, Transvaal, Natal, Orange Free State, Cape 



