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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Calyptratae » Oestroidea » Flesh Flies (Sarcophagidae) » Paramacronychiinae » Wohlfahrtia » Fox Maggot (Wohlfahrtia vigil)
Photo#1018982
W. vigil - Wohlfahrtia vigil - female
Copyright © 2014 Joe R.

W. vigil - Wohlfahrtia vigil - Female
Hanover, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, USA
September 14, 2014
Collected in a pitfall trap at a restored prairie. Specimen in alcohol.

This fly is identifiable from the relatively bare antennae, pale tegula, posterodorsal apical metatibial bristle absent, yellow palpus and bare parafacial.

There is one Eastern species (W. vigil) and one Western species (W. opaca). I'm guessing the photos already in the guide can be IDed to species based on range. Related species are known to cause myiasis in children. There's a pretty gruesome photo on the internets of a child's eye infested with 23 of these maggots.

These are known parasites of fox and mink

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W. vigil - Wohlfahrtia vigil - female W. vigil - Wohlfahrtia vigil - female W. vigil - Wohlfahrtia vigil - female
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Contributed by Joe R. on 12 November, 2014 - 9:23am

Maybe one species
Some say there is only one species in North America. If so, the name Wohlfahrtia vigil has priority. If there are two species, most or all of the flies on BugGuide would be opaca. Your fly keys to opaca in James and Gassner (1947) (see genus page), and matches their illustration, but has more black than the western Wolhfahrtia here.
… John F. Carr, 13 November, 2014 - 8:51pm login or register to post comments

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