Printable Maggot Mask

5 Interesting Facts About Maggots!

• Maggots are fly larvae - the wriggling stage between egg and pupa in a fly's life cycle, which usually lasts between 3 and 5 days depending on temperature.
• They are extraordinary decomposers - a mass of maggots can completely consume a large animal carcass in just a few days, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem with remarkable efficiency.
• Maggot therapy is a legitimate medical treatment - sterile maggots placed in infected wounds eat only dead tissue, leaving healthy tissue untouched and producing secretions that kill bacteria. It was used for centuries before antibiotics and is making a comeback.
• Forensic scientists use maggots to estimate time of death - different fly species colonise a body in a predictable sequence, and the stage of larval development allows remarkably accurate estimates.
• Maggots can detect chemicals in their environment with extraordinary sensitivity - they have chemoreceptors across their entire body surface, effectively tasting and smelling with their skin.