Maggots

Just before sunset one evening, we visited a sighting of two lionesses feeding on a Zebra that they had killed. It had been a scorching day with temperatures definitely above 30 degrees Celsius. A fair portion of the zebra had been consumed already and both lionesses had distended bellies and that “about to explode” look that lions get after feasting well. Murray, the Melton Manor ranger, and I started discussing how old the carcass was and when it had been killed. The presence of maggots in the zebra gave us somewhere to start. Flies need to compete with all the other predators and scavengers in the area and it is rare that a carcass stays around for more than a day or two. To get around this, they have adapted very well. The maggots will burrow under the skin away from the open flesh; this buys them some time whilst the other carnivores feed. Some flies can hatch within hours of being born, especially when it is warm, and others even hatch inside the mother and are born as maggots. Flies then go through a few changes (all the while eating continuously) before they pupate and hatch as flies. I wasn’t about to go and ask the lions if I could take some maggots to identify, but we surmised that the kill was probably made the previous evening and the hot weather had accelerated the maggots growth. It would be interesting to collect some maggots and find out which flies are most successful in this fickle environment. Forensic Scientists routinely use insects and other animals to calculate the timing of events at crime scenes. I’ll put this on my list of things to find out (just below how quickly elephant and buffalo dung loses temperature after being deposited.)

Posted: South Africa Wildlife by Rowan Seagers, Date: 23 January 2010