**Maggots** is the common term for the soft-bodied, legless larvae of two-winged flies (order Diptera), particularly those belonging to the families Muscidae (house flies) and Calliphoridae (blow flies). While most people associate maggots with decay and poor sanitation, they are ubiquitous decomposers in nature. They are considered pests when they infest food or animal wounds (**myiasis**), or when large numbers cause severe nuisance in homes and garbage disposal areas. They are essential to forensic entomology and are sometimes used medically.
Taxonomy and Classification
Maggots belong to the order Diptera (true flies). They undergo complete metamorphosis. Maggots lack a distinct head capsule and are typically pointed at the anterior (head) end and blunt at the posterior (tail) end, which often bears two breathing spiracles. They are obligate decomposers, requiring moist, decaying organic matter (carrion, manure, garbage, spoiled food) to complete their larval development.
Physical Description
Maggots are off-white or yellowish, cylindrical, soft, and legless, varying in size from a few millimeters up to 3/4 inch long.
- **Appearance:** Segmented, moist, and capable of undulating movement. Their mouthparts consist of small, dark, internal hooks used to tear and ingest semi-liquid food.
- **Breathing:** They breathe through posterior spiracles, which they often poke up through the liquid or semi-liquid food mass.
- **Flies (Adults):** Adults are the common house flies (gray, non-metallic) or blow flies (metallic green or blue), whose presence indoors indicates a nearby breeding site.
- **Conflict Sign:** The presence of large masses of squirming larvae in garbage cans, compost piles, or food disposal units, often accompanied by the smell of decay.
Distribution and Habitat
Maggots are found globally in nearly all environments. Their habitat is any moist, rich, decaying organic matter. Indoors, they infest poorly maintained garbage cans, forgotten spoiled food, and occasionally pet waste. Outdoors, they thrive in manure, compost, and animal carcasses.
Behavior and Conflict
Adult flies are highly attracted to the odors of decomposition, where they lay their eggs.
- **Rapid Development:** Maggots can hatch and develop quickly, sometimes within $10$ days, allowing populations to explode.
- **Nuisance and Health:** Maggot infestations are a severe nuisance, attracting rodents and contaminating surfaces. Adult flies emerging from these sites can transmit mechanical pathogens (bacteria) picked up from the decaying matter to human food surfaces.
- **Myiasis:** Certain specialized fly species can infest the living tissue of animals or humans (**myiasis**), causing severe medical conditions, although this is rare in developed areas outside of neglect cases.
Management and Prevention
Control is entirely reliant on eliminating the breeding medium and practicing rigorous sanitation.
- **Sanitation (Key):** Keep all garbage cans tightly sealed. Remove trash frequently. Ensure all food is stored properly and clean up all food spills immediately.
- **Cleaning:** Thoroughly clean and disinfect garbage cans, removing all residual slime and organic matter, as this is where female flies lay eggs.
- **Exclusion:** Ensure windows and doors have tight screens to prevent adult flies from entering and laying eggs indoors.
- **Larval Treatment:** In outdoor areas (like dumpster pads), a quick knockdown can be achieved with a residual larvicide or strong jet of boiling water after the organic material has been removed.
Conservation and Research
Maggots are managed as key forensic tools and medical tools. Research focuses on their role in decomposition for police investigations (forensic entomology) and refining their use in **maggot therapy** (debridement of necrotic wounds) due to their ability to selectively consume dead tissue.