''Calliphora'' is a genus of blow flies, also known as bottle flies, found in most parts of the world, with the highest diversity in Australia. The most widespread species in North America area ''

Calliphora livida ''Calliphora livida'' is a member of the family Calliphoridae, the blow flies. This large family includes the genus ''Calliphora'', the "blue bottle flies". This genus is important in the field of forensic entomology because of its value in post- ...

'', '' C. vicina'', and '' C. vomitoria''. ''Calliphora'', meaning "bearer of beauty", was first formally named in 1830 by

Jean-Baptiste Robineau-Desvoidy André Jean Baptiste Robineau-Desvoidy (1 January 1799 in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye – 25 June 1857 in Paris) was a French physician and entomologist specialising in the study of Diptera (flies) and to some extent of the Coleoptera (beetles). Ac ...

. It is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Calliphoridae The Calliphoridae (commonly known as blow flies, blow-flies, carrion flies, bluebottles, greenbottles, or cluster flies) are a family of insects in the order Diptera, with almost 1,900 known species. The maggot larvae, often used as fishing ba ...

Description

Adults of ''Calliphora'' have a grey or black thorax, the colour dulled by a heavy microtomentum. The abdomen is metallic blue (rarely purple or green) and sometimes also dulled by microtomentum. The suprasquamal ridge is bare or with inconspicuous fine

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for " bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

only. The first flagellomere of the antenna is more than twice the length of the pedicel. Larvae have two posterior spiracles with a thick and unbroken peritreme, and (like other Calliphoridae larvae) containing straight slits. There is an accessory

sclerite A sclerite (Greek , ', meaning " hard") is a hardened body part. In various branches of biology the term is applied to various structures, but not as a rule to vertebrate anatomical features such as bones and teeth. Instead it refers most commonly ...

between the mouth hooks, though this is not visible in whole larvae.

Species

Species in the genus ''Calliphora'' include:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2213438 Calliphoridae Oestroidea genera Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Robineau-Desvoidy