They are fairly large flies, nearly twice the size of the housefly, with a metallic blue abdomen and long orange setae on the gena.

[9][10] Calliphora vomitoria can be found throughout the world, including most of Europe, Alaska, Greenland, the south of Mexico, United States, and southern Africa.

[11][12] It prefers higher elevations relative to other Calliphoridae species, such as Lucilia sericata and Chrysomya albiceps.

[15] Blue bottle flies have the complete cycle of egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

A female blue bottle fly lays her eggs where she feeds, usually in decaying meat, garbage, or feces.

At that time they crawl away to a drier place where they burrow into soil or similar matter and pupate into tough brown cocoons.

Undergoing metamorphosis requires a tremendous amount of change for the fly, such as cell death.

Its close relative, Calliphora vicina, is a generalist, being able to utilize mixed substrates with equal growth rates.

[19] In the case of overcrowding, C. vomitoria competition results in compensation by increased speed of development, leading to smaller larvae and adults.

Right before the pupal stage, the fly larvae that leaves the carrion can burrow into the soil in order to pupate.

Plants pollinated by the fly include the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), American pawpaw (Asimina triloba), dead horse arum (Helicodiceros muscivorus), goldenrod and some species of the carrot family.

[23] These insects tend to fly in packs in order to detect possible food sources more efficiently.

Additionally, the large aggregation helps generate heat and keep the larvae warm, as the flies generally prefer warmer temperature.

One complication with the high number of individuals is that competition is still a factor, as larvae on the periphery may be left out of the feeding, and by the end of the developmental cycle they emerge undernourished and undersized.

[25]The median neuro-secretory cells (MNC) of the brain of Calliphora species contain peptide hormones that resemble insulin.

[26][27] On the terminal region of the 5th tarsal segment, the C. vomitoria contain pulvilli, which are the cushion-like hairy feet on insects and many arthropods located at base of their two claws.

[28][29] These flies are among the most important insect evidence in forensic science, specifically for obtaining time of colonization (TOC) and post mortem interval (PMI).

In addition, C. vomitoria has higher threshold temperature for growth than many species; likewise, it is present in many regions.

There is a limit to their usage, though, as few species can survive in cold temperatures; most cannot continue development unless it is warmer than roughly 2 °C (36 °F).

During the active decay stage, the blow fly larvae population reaches its peak.

[21] The study of these flies, however, is limited to areas where entomologists are readily available, as life histories can differ in separate regions.

These restrictions should be thus considered so the proper time of colonization (TOC) and post mortem interval (PMI) can be established.

The COI gene used in conjunction with restriction enzymes has been shown to be a relatively fast and simple method of distinguishing between blowfly species with good accuracy.