blowfly

noun

blow·​fly ˈblō-ˌflī How to pronounce blowfly (audio)
: any of a family (Calliphoridae) of dipteran flies (such as the bluebottle or screwworm) that deposit their eggs especially on meat or in wounds

Examples of blowfly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Whether that reduces incidence of blowfly parasitism in sheep, however, remains to be seen, Ward-Fear notes. Bygennaro Tomma, science.org, 11 July 2024 Maggots are the larvae of various fly species, such as fruit flies, houseflies, cheese flies and blowflies. Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2024 Some of the bones also had evidence of blowfly pupae, meaning the bones would have been defleshed before they were put in the ground as opposed to the entire body of the mammoth being left, according to the study. Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 12 June 2024 To capture the blowfly’s beating wings, researchers increased the resolution of the technique, and tethered the blowfly to a rotating table. Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2014 Studies in Israel, Malaysia and India all suggest that blowflies are effective at pollinating mangoes, while trials in the US and New Zealand showed that the European blue blowfly (Calliphora vicina) produced as good a yield of leek and carrot seed as bees. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2021 The blue, green and yellow muscles are the blowfly's steering muscles. Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2014 The blowfly’s secret to flight wasn’t a complete mystery to scientists. Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 26 Mar. 2014 Entomologists at North Carolina State University have even genetically tweaked blowfly maggots to also produce a human growth factor that could boost their healing powers. Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 2 June 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of blowfly was in 1744

Dictionary Entries Near blowfly

Cite this Entry

“Blowfly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blowfly. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

blowfly

noun
blow·​fly ˈblō-ˌflī How to pronounce blowfly (audio)
: any of various two-winged flies (as a bluebottle) that deposit their eggs on meat or in wounds

Medical Definition

blowfly

noun
blow·​fly -ˌflī How to pronounce blowfly (audio)
plural blowflies
: any dipteran fly (as a bluebottle or a screwworm) of the family Calliphoridae

More from Merriam-Webster on blowfly

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!