Blue Blowfly - Calliphora vicinaToronto went and had an early day of spring this past weekend with 1

Blue Blowfly - Calliphora vicina

Toronto went and had an early day of spring this past weekend with 15°C temperatures and nice warm winds helping to evaporate the snow. The weather was so potent, that I did find a few insects that emerged early into a new year. Perhaps they emerged too early given the rain and snowfall that arrived yesterday, but insects are hardy and can handle tough conditions. New hiding spots may be needed until the weather is more stable, but having some insects active early is a good sign. One of those insects was a winged male Carpenter Ant, possibly just emerged in search of a winged female; the other insect was an inconspicuous Fly of a drab disposition, most likely a small Cluster Fly. It may have flown away all of a sudden, but it inspired this post which adds a widespread specie to the blog. It’s counterpart has been featured before, but I took my time with the identification of this specie to be as accurate as possible. Let me tell you what I learned along the way. That vibrant blue abdomen is plain to see and an easy marker of this specie, but you can’t stop just there.

Greenbottle Flies may be uniformly green and are easier to recognize, but just because a Fly has a blue abdomen, doesn’t make it a Bluebottle Fly. Even an all-blue body isn’t enough as the Greenbottle Fly can have an iridescent bluish sheen instead of green. Like many insect, it’s all in the details of identification (well, as much as one can do from just pictures). The Blue Blowfly has a dark-colored body with faint stripping and a wider abdomen compared to its green cousins. Overall, it’s much larger too! It may be easy to peg this Fly as a Bluebottle, but that wouldn’t be accurate as the Bluebottle Fly(Calliphora vomitoria) jowl (the cheek area of the face) is dark-colored. These individuals here have yellow-colored cheeks that are specked with black sensory hairs. Gives the Fly a bit of personality while also providing instruments to help the Fly gather information. Capture any photos of the face if you find one of these, along with the top of the thorax. Though there are many Calliphora species in North America you’re likely to find them circulating around flowers (as great contributors to spring pollination where possible) or around decaying matter. They have sharp senses for these things, especially the latter. It presents an opportunity to mingle and lay eggs! And with the dawn of a new spring, life will continue to flourish, even the somewhat messy Flies.

Pictures were taken on April 18 and May 4, 2020 with a Google Pixel 4.