Nutrition
Lucilia sericata adults will feed on liquid or
dissolvable solid materials. Flies have taste receptors on their
feet so they can sense if they want to pursue that potential
meal. Although these flies can be attracted to sweet
materials such as flowers, females need
more of a protein diet
for maturing eggs. Most females will be found munching on meat,
while males are more commonly getting their nutrients from
flowers. One type of flower that flies will get their nutrients from is the
purple coneflower. Lucilia sericata cannot chew, therefore they
must suck up food. When a fly lands on a solid food it will
throw up enzymes that will begin to break down and dissolve that
material. This action will allow the food to become more of a liquid so that they
can consume the food. Larvae will also only ingest only liquid
food. They have a very simple intestine and a pair of large
salivary glands. The larvae will eject digestive enzymes into
material and
then wait for it to liquefy so that they can
enjoy a feast. Heat makes it easier for larvae to eat because
it increases the rate of liquefying the material and the rate of
digestion. If the temperature is high enough, maggots will
be able to consume about 60% of a human body in a week. The maggot stage of
Lucilia sericata is the most important time for feeding so
that the rest of the life cycle can occur.
Now check out how Lucilia sericata
reproduce