Cheese fly

This article is about the fly species. For the family, see Piophilidae.

Cheese fly
Illustration of Piophila casei
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Piophilidae
Genus:	Piophila
Species:	P. casei
Binomial name
Piophila casei (Linnaeus, 1758)

The cheese fly, cheese skipper, or ham skipper (Piophila casei) is a species of fly from the family Piophilidae whose larvae are known to infest cured meats, smoked or salted fish, cheeses and carrion. On the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, the larvae are intentionally introduced into pecorino sardo cheese to produce the characteristic casu martzu . If consumed by humans, the larvae have a chance to survive in the intestine, causing enteric myiasis, ^[1] though no such cases have been linked to casu martzu dishes. ^[2] The larvae may also carry harmful microorganisms that, when consumed, could cause infections. ^[3]

Description

Adult male cheese flies are usually 4.4–4.5mm long, with females slightly larger at 5.0–5.2mm long. The body is primarily a metallic black bronze in colour, with two pale yellow iridescent wings that lie flat upon the fly's abdomen when at rest. The head has short antennae and red compound eyes. The legs are yellow-brown and are covered in short spines.

The cheese fly larvae are cylindrical and can appear white or cream, with black mouthparts. When fully grown, they are 9–10mm long, 1mm wide, and have 13 segments. When disturbed, the larvae can leap 10-12cm by hooking their mouths into a nearby surface and jerking forward - this is believed to be what has led to the name "cheese skippers". ^[4]

References

1. Peckenscneider, L.E.; Polorny, C.; Hellwig, C.A. (May 17, 1952). "Intestinal infestation with maggots of the cheese fly (Piophila casei)". JAMA . 149 (3): 262–263. doi:10.1001/jama.1952.72930200005011b. PMID   14927333.
2. Petroni. "Casu marzu: The world’s ‘most dangerous’ cheese", CNN Travel, 18 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
3. "Subject: Petition No 0702/2023 presented by Nicolò Quartararo (Italian) on restoring the status of Casu Marzu cheese as a foodstuff and edible product in the EU" (PDF). European Parliament . 2024-01-15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
4. Lewis, Caitlin; Kaufman, Phillip (January 2010). Gillett-Kaufman, Jennifer (ed.). "Cheese Skipper". Featured Creatures Entomology & Nematology.

External links

• Image of Piophila casei Los Angeles County Natural History Museum