Named to honor the Italian entomologist Mario Bezzi, this fly is widely distributed in Asia, tropical Africa, India, and Papua New Guinea.
The adult can be identified as metallic green or blue with a yellow face and the larvae are smooth, lacking any obvious body processes except on the last segment.
It is most prevalent in Southeast Asia, tropical and subtropical Africa, some countries in the Middle East, India, the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian and Philippine Islands, and Papua New Guinea.
[2] In countries where Chrysomya bezziana does not exist, scientists and those in agriculture are worried that commercial flights, boats, or vehicles will distribute the fly.
The abdominal tergites (the segments of the dorsal portion of the fly) have narrow darker bands and the legs are black or dark-brown.
[5] Another close relative, Chrysomya megacephala, occurs in many of the same regions as C. bezziana; therefore, it is important to be able to distinguish between the flies.
[5]The female does not have as distinct differences and cannot be as easily distinguished from C. megacephala, but they can be identified by analyzing the frons (the uppermost part of the head of an insect).
[4] Eggs of C. bezziana are commonly laid in the navel of newborn livestock species or on castration wounds in cattle.
[4] As the maggots feed and cause tissue damage, the wound produces a characteristic odor, which can go unnoticed by humans.
[6] The sexually mature adult imago feeds on decomposing corpses, decaying matter, excreta, and flowers.
However, because C. bezziana can cause myiasis and lay its eggs on a live mammal, it can be more complicated to determine a time of colonization.
However, most human cases documented are debilitated patients not fully capable of taking care of themselves and dressing their own wounds.
If a person suspects that their animal or livestock has been a victim of fly-strike, they should bring the case to the attention of their veterinarian for analysis.
[8] Management of Chrysomya bezziana can be conducted using several different methods, depending upon the adult or larvae form.
Castration wounds in cattle that have insect growth regulators, such as dicyclanil, have high success rates of preventing the establishment of C.
The results were promising in-vitro (outside of the body in controlled environments, like a petri dish) and in-vivo (tested with living animals).
The effects of larvae with lower weights could lessen the damage caused to the living tissue of the maggots, and it is possible that it could also reduce the fly development.
The potential of vaccination as a control source was still unresolved, as the immunological mechanisms are very complex and follow-up studies need to be conducted.
[11] A case study reported in 2009 involving Chrysomya bezziana included a 65-year-old woman with skin cancer.
Infestation of Chrysomya bezziana in cancerous wounds is very rare and most of the cases deal with SCC among elderly patients.
[13] According to the Communicable Diseases Watch newsletter, 11 of the 21 infestations in Hong Kong between October 2002 and December 2004 were in the oral cavity.
[15] According to a pest control officer for the Food and Hygiene Department in 2009, the Hong Kong government (where many of the case studies are published) is unaware of any research in this field.
[17] It is not a suitable fly for research in maggot therapy, because it can cause permanent damage by feeding on the underlying tissues, so most studies published on the subject do not include C.