For the carrion-feeding blow flies, a common source of vitellogenic protein are the carcasses that also serve as larval substrates. This attraction continues well after the blow flies have ceased to oviposit on the carrion, and it has been assumed that a decomposed cadaver remains a suitable source for vitellogenic protein; however, this assumption has never been tested. To test this hypothesis...

THE complex chemical changes associated with metamorphosis have long been of interest to biochemists, but a detailed study of one type is not yet available, in spite of much attention having been paid to the silkworm. The subject of this study is the sheep blow-fly Lucilia sericata Meigan. This insect is very suitable for an investigation of this kind since the prepupal stage, morphologically s...

CERTAIN changes in the chief chemical constituents of tissues have been studied during the metamorphosis of Lucilia sericata Meigan, commonly known as the green-bottle or sheep blow-fly by Evans (3). Since histolysis and histogenesis are very well marked in this species, it was thought advisable to extend the study to a member of a lower order in which the changes are not so drastic. A suitable...

BACKGROUND The green bottle fly maggot, Lucilia sericata, is a species with importance in medicine, agriculture and forensics. Improved understanding of this species' biology is of great potential benefit to many research communities. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a short non-protein coding regulatory RNA, which directly regulate a host of protein coding genes at the translational level. They have been...