Bug FAQBrown Blowfly
Calliphora stygia · Order: Diptera · Family: Calliphoridae
Also called: Rango Tuamaro
The brown blowfly has a grey thorax, yellow-brown abdomen and a brassy abdomen dusted with golden specks. It lives in Australia and New Zealand, often being one of the first insects on a corpse. Adults lay eggs year-round and the larvae feed on soft tissues of dead animals.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The fly shows a grey thorax with a yellow-brown abdomen. The underside of its body and the leg femora and tibiae are yellow.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its abdomen appears brassy with a dense, tessellate golden dusting.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
It affects living animals, especially livestock in New Zealand agriculture. The maggots can cause flystrike disease by burrowing into sheep skin.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Traps have been tried but are largely ineffective for this species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in Australia and New Zealand. It is often among the first insects to colonise a corpse.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults can lay eggs throughout the year, producing roughly equal numbers of males and females.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
It has three larval instars, then pupates and becomes an adult. Pupation normally takes about 32 hours, up to 48 hours.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Emergence is not strongly seasonal; light and temperature cues are important. Adults lay eggs year-round, producing equal male and female offspring.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is native to Australia and New Zealand. It occurs in eastern Australia, unlike its look-alike C. albifrontalis which is western.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It resembles C. albifrontalis, which lives in western Australia, while C. stygia is eastern. The upper third of its fore femora is orange, unlike the darkened femora of C. albifrontalis.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I identify a brown blowfly?
Look for a grey thorax, yellow-brown abdomen with a brassy, golden-dusted look, and yellow undersides on the body and legs.
Source: Wikipedia
What damage does the brown blowfly cause?
Its larvae can cause flystrike in sheep by burrowing into the skin.
Source: Wikipedia
When are brown blowflies active?
They are not strongly seasonal and can lay eggs throughout the year, responding to light and temperature.
Source: Wikipedia
Can traps control brown blowflies?
Traps have generally little effect on their numbers.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Calliphoridae)
Common European Greenbottle FlyLucilia sericataNuisance, not dangerous
Blue BlowflyCalliphora vicinaCan spread germs or disease
Black Blow FlyPhormia reginaNuisance, not dangerous
Oriental Latrine FlyChrysomya megacephalaCan spread germs or disease
Australian Sheep Blow FlyLucilia cuprinaNuisance, not dangerous
Locust BlowflyStomorhina lunataSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calliphora_stygia
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.