Cheese fly
| Cheese fly | |
|---|---|
| |
| Illustration of Piophila casei | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Piophilidae |
| Genus: | Piophila |
| Species: | P. casei
|
| Binomial name | |
| Piophila casei | |
The cheese fly, cheese skipper, or ham skipper (Piophila casei) is a
Description
Adult male cheese flies are usually 4.4–4.5mm long, with females slightly larger at 5.0–5.2mm long. The body is primarily a metallic black bronze in colour, with two pale yellow
abdomen when at rest. The head has short antennae and red compound eyes
. The legs are yellow-brown and are covered in short spines.
The cheese fly larvae are cylindrical and can appear white or cream, with black mouthparts. When fully grown, they are 9–10mm long, 1mm wide, and have 13 segments. When disturbed, the larvae can leap 10-12cm by hooking their mouths into a nearby surface and jerking forward - this is believed to be what has led to the name "cheese skippers".[3]
References
- PMID 14927333.
- ^ Petroni. "Casu marzu: The world’s ‘most dangerous’ cheese", CNN Travel, 18 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ Lewis, Caitlin; Kaufman, Phillip (January 2010). Gillett-Kaufman, Jennifer (ed.). "Cheese Skipper". Featured Creatures Entomology & Nematology.
External links
- Image of Piophila casei Los Angeles County Natural History Museum
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