flesh fly

American  

noun

1. any fly of the family Sarcophagidae, comprising species that deposit their eggs or larvae in carrion or in the flesh of living animals.

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flesh fly British  

noun

1. any dipterous fly of the genus Sarcophaga , esp S. carnaria , whose larvae feed on carrion or the tissues of living animals: family Calliphoridae

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Etymology

Origin of flesh fly

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flesh fly

For a while, the common flesh fly, which does not occur in the Americas, appeared there in great abundance on iNaturalist’s maps.

From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022

The flesh fly, Musca Cæsar, or the Blue-bottle fly, feeds upon decaying animal matter.

From Our Common Insects A Popular Account of the Insects of Our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses by Packard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring)

But when the fall does not exceed a certain depth, the budding worms of the flesh fly are dropped without a qualm, as all our experiments show.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

It is chemotropism, not solicitude for its offspring, which drives the flesh fly to lay its eggs on decaying meat.

From Being Well-Born An Introduction to Eugenics by Guyer, Michael F.

This brings us back, after a long way round, to our starting point, the maggot of the flesh fly.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander