Its epithet cadaverina is derived from the Latin word, meaning ‘(that feed on) dead bodies.’[1] This species is a member of the order Diptera and the diverse family Calliphoridae.

[4] Along with these other characteristics, C. cadaverina also has white calypters, a bare stem vein, and a parafacial with a ground color ranging from black to reddish brown with a yellow covering.

[6] Members of the order Diptera have a holometabolous lifecycle, meaning they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa and imago, or adult.

During a molt, the larvae shed its outer layer in order to accommodate for new growth that comes with increased consumption of food needed for energy stores.

Specifically with C. cadaverina, they tend to be attracted to fairly advanced stages of decomposition, while rarely being found on fresh carrion.

Myiasis is fairly uncommon in the United States, but tends to be very common in third world countries and can create a major problem with livestock, causing severe economic losses.

Myiasis is different from maggot therapy in which physicians purposely use larvae of flies that feed on necrotic tissue in order to clean up a wound and aid healing.

In recent years, there have been numerous research projects on the topic of mitochondrial DNA analysis in fly larvae.

This fly can also pose a health hazard due to the transmission of enteric pathogens that can lead to foodborne diseases in humans.

[11] Further research is being conducted on Cynomya cadaverina to gain more information on its lifecycle as well as its behavior in order to better pinpoint time of death with postmortem interval estimation.

Although Cynomya cadaverina is not as forensically or medically important as some of the other species of fly, it can still be a powerful tool in investigations as well as aid in maggot therapy.