Please Help Identify

[BigDazz]

Hello Fam,

I have never seen these kind of flies before... They are huge (Bigger than Blue Bottles) with red/orange eyes.

I set the trap out the day it stopped raining & caught quite a few. They're not very active but Triple OG seems to love them.

If anyone have any info these buggers (pun intended) please let me know... Thanks!!

 

[LAME]

They may just be overly big bluebottles.. flesh flies are hairy so i dont think thats it.

Here's a link I found: http://phorid.net/zadbi/education/how-to-identify-flies/how-to-identify-flies-antennae-shape/how-to-identify-flies-cyclorrhapha-test/

 

[CosbyArt]

@BigDazz Likely one of the common blow flies, such as Chrysomya megacephala (see here). How close the eyes are together on them both though are a sign they are males, as the females eyes are spaced further apart (both sexes can be seen in the link given).

The only ones I worry about are the Tabanidae species of flies, as they are biting flies (horse flies, deer flies, etc) and I do not want my smaller mantids injured. Those flies can be seen here, and another too.

 

[BigDazz]

Yep @CosbyArt you're right blow flies... The kind forensics use to estimate the time of death due to the stage of the flies which make sense cause I used rotting fish in the traps.

Side note  I was able to grab some spikes they left behind... What's crazy is I dumped the rotting fish in a bag and tied it up and threw it in one of those big plastic laundry detergent buckets and when I went to use the meat for todays catch there were 20 or so spikes (smell was TERRIBLE ... I have no clue how they got there cause the flies never touched the meat and it was sealed in the air tight bucket. CRAZY! 

 

[CosbyArt]

Yep @CosbyArt you're right blow flies... The kind forensics use to estimate the time of death due to the stage of the flies which make sense cause I used rotting fish in the traps.

Side note  I was able to grab some spikes they left behind... What's crazy is I dumped the rotting fish in a bag and tied it up and threw it in one of those big plastic laundry detergent buckets and when I went to use the meat for todays catch there were 20 or so spikes (smell was TERRIBLE ... I have no clue how they got there cause the flies never touched the meat and it was sealed in the air tight bucket. CRAZY! 

The flies are able to drop their eggs through any openings onto the meat as well (such as the ones in your trap) - much like flavoring the meat with a salt shaker from a few inches up.

Be careful of such enclosed smells, as there is more than just purified meat smell, bacteria/enzymes/etc are also in on the feast and can easily be inhaled.

 

[BigDazz]

Yea I think I witnessed that earlier lol 

 

[CosbyArt]

@BigDazz I bet you did as they tend to do it anywhere they smell a food source their young will thrive in - they are nasty boogers.

If you see a fly holding still while all the others are on the move, you can be sure it is a female laying eggs (if you watch closely you can watch them move their abdomen in the process doing small half circle patterns from side to side). They tend to lay eggs on flat surfaces in little masses, or drop them into the food source. Speaking of which wild fruit flies can do that trick too by laying their eggs in the fine mesh of fruit fly cultures, contaminating the culture with wild flies.

If you notice any tiny cream colored/yellow specs those are fly eggs, and hatch usually within 24 hours. The females get excited from the bait and turn into egg machines. If you reuse the same container the flies were housed in the next day if you look closely you will likely see fly maggots about the size of the common grain mites all over the container (hold it near a bright light to see).

For that reason anymore after I collect flies with my net and put them in my 2 liter containers, I will toss the containers outside in our shed for a few days (I have plenty of them), or clean them under hot water to prevent them from hatching or getting anywhere in our house.