Adults are usually 10–18 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Sarcophaga carnaria
A flesh fly that gives birth to live larvae and sends them into living earthworms rather than simply feeding on carrion.
About this species
Greater Flesh Fly
Sarcophaga carnaria(Linnaeus, 1758)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Sarcophaga carnaria is a widespread European flesh fly. Although adults are often seen on carrion and flowers, its larval biology is strongly associated with earthworms, and females deposit living first-instar larvae rather than eggs.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Diptera · Sarcophagidae · Sarcophaga
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Most of Europe and parts of temperate AsiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Most of Europe and parts of temperate Asia
Woodland, farmland, gardens and other places with moist soil and earthworms.
Adults are active in warm daylight and visit carrion, dung and flowers.
Adults take liquids; larvae develop as parasitoids of earthworms.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
The female is larviparous: eggs hatch inside her body, so she deposits active maggots ready to invade a host immediately.
Those larvae are not ordinary carrion maggots — they develop in living earthworms, ultimately killing and consuming the host.
Females of the carnaria species complex are so externally similar that reliable species identification often depends on the intricate genital structures of males.
Sources and scientific references
- GBIF — taxon record/search for Sarcophaga carnaria
- Catalogue of Life — taxon search for Sarcophaga carnaria
- Forensic Science International — biology and identification of Sarcophaga carnaria
- Fauna Europaea-linked overview of the Sarcophaga carnaria complex
- Diptera.info photographic and diagnostic resource for Sarcophaga carnaria