Maggot facts for kids

Maggots are young flies, also called larvae.

A maggot is a young fly, also called a larva. It's like a baby fly that hasn't grown wings yet. Maggots are usually the babies of flies like houseflies and blowflies. Mosquitoes and crane flies have different kinds of young. Scientists estimated there were over 300 quadrillion maggots in North America in 2012! That's a huge number!

What are Maggots?

The word "maggot" is a common term, but scientists don't always use it as a strict scientific word. You might not even find it in the index of some insect textbooks. Some people use "maggot" to describe any insect larva. Others say it's a grub that has no legs.

Maggot-like fly larvae are very important in nature and even in medicine. They help recycle dead animals and garbage. Some kinds of maggots can attack crops and food. They can also spread tiny germs. Maggots are also super important in forensic entomology. This is a science that uses insects to help solve crimes. By studying how maggots grow, experts can figure out when someone died. This is especially true for maggots from the Calliphoridae family.

How Maggots Are Used

Fishing with Maggots

Many anglers (people who fish) use maggots to catch fish that don't eat other animals. Maggots are the most popular bait for anglers in Europe. Fishermen often throw handfuls of maggots into the water. This attracts fish to the area. Then, they put the biggest or most attractive maggots on their hook. They hope this will be too tempting for the fish to resist!

Commercial maggot breeders in the UK sell their maggots to fishing shops. These shops are found all over the E.U. and North America. In North America, maggots were mostly used for ice fishing. But now, anglers are starting to use them all year long.

Maggots in Medical Treatment

Live maggots have been used for a very long time to clean wounds. This is called maggot therapy. It's done in a controlled, clean setting by doctors. They use special, disinfected maggots on wounds that are not healing well. These wounds might be on a human or an animal.

The only maggots approved for medical use in the United States are from a fly species called Phaenicia sericata. These maggots eat only the dead or damaged tissue in a wound. They leave the healthy tissue alone. Studies have also shown that maggots can kill bacteria. This happens because of special chemicals in their bodies. As of 2008, maggot therapy was being used in about 1,000 medical centers in Europe. It was also used in over 300 medical centers in the United States.

Maggots in Forensic Science

Maggots can help forensic scientists figure out how long a person has been dead. This is done by looking at the maggots on a body. Depending on the type of maggot and the conditions, maggots can appear on a body within 24 hours. Flies lay their eggs right on the food source. When the eggs hatch, the maggots move to where they like it best and start eating.

By studying the insects at a crime scene, forensic entomologists can estimate the time of death. Insects are usually helpful for estimating deaths that happened about 25 to 80 hours ago. This depends on the temperature and other conditions. After this time, the method becomes less accurate.

Maggots and Animals

Just like fleas and ticks, maggots can be a problem for pets and livestock. This is especially true for sheep. Flies reproduce very quickly in the summer. This means many maggots can appear at once. This can lead to a maggot infestation. It also creates a high risk of myiasis. Myiasis is when maggots infest the living tissue of sheep or other animals.

Humans can also get myiasis. This usually happens when people are near garbage cans, dead animals, or rotten food. These are places where maggots like to breed.

When maggots grow into adult flies, they start the life cycle over. Their numbers can grow very fast if nothing stops them. But diseases, animals that eat them, and parasites help keep the population under control. You can help prevent maggot infestations by sealing your garbage. Using a garbage disposal or freezing rotting leftovers until trash day also helps. Introducing certain beetles, like Hister beetles, can also help reduce maggot populations.

Images for kids

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  Maggots from a rabbit.