page_title: Phormia regina
section_title: Food sources
hierarchical_section_title: Phormia regina / Food sources
caption_attribution_description: English: Decomposing Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), showing maggots.
context_page_description: The species Phormia regina, more commonly known as the black blow fly, belongs to the blow fly family Calliphoridae and was first described by Johann Wilhelm Meigen.
  The black blow fly's wings are specialized with a sharp bend. These flies are also have well-developed calypters. Blow flies generally are about the size of a house fly or a little larger, and many are metallic blue or green in color. Key characteristics of this species include black gena, mostly white calypters, and anterior thoracic spiracles that appear to be orange yellow due to being surrounded by bright orange setae.
  P. regina is especially important to forensic entomology. Female P. regina, like other blow flies in the family Calliphoridae, oviposit their eggs on carrion, where they hatch. The larvae develop through three instar stages until pupation. Adult black blow flies aggregate on feces in order to mate. The success of these mating interactions has been studied appears related to size and diet of the adult flies.
context_section_description: Feeding habits vary greatly throughout the life cycle of P. regina. The feeding habits of adult flies depend both on sex and reproduction status of the fly. This is particularly important with respect to their protein intake, which literature suggests has an important role in sexual maturation and copulation ability in adult P. regina.  Like most other flies, the black blow fly feeds via sponging. Though adults require various types of nutrients, in the wild they are typically able to procure all their nutrition from feces.
caption: Decomposing possum
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