Family: Sarcophagidae (flesh flies)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Phylum: Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda > Insecta (insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola > Holometabola > Panorpida > Antliophora > Diptera (flies) > Brachycera > Muscomorpha > Eremoneura > Cyclorrapha > Schizophora > Oestroidea

Unidentified species of sarcophagid on rock in mountain fynbos. [photo Hamish Robertson]

Sarcophagids are ovoviviparous so they are able to deposit larvae in new food sources such as dung, corpses or wounds in animals, and have a competitive edge over other species. Some species are predators/cleptoparasites in nests of wasps or of grasshopper egg cases. A total of 153 species have been recorded from South Africa (SA Animal Checklist).