Phylogenomics and the evolution of larval feeding habits in the blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
Abstract Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) occur worldwide and exhibit a wide range of larval feeding habits, including saprophagy, coprophagy, parasitism and predation. Understanding their biology is critical for medical and veterinary science and ecology. Calliphorids thrive across a range of habitats and exhibit complex life histories, with larvae developing immersed in their food substrate, while adults are free‐living and have diverse feeding strategies. Some species have evolved specialized parasitic associations with vertebrate or invertebrate hosts, which are behaviors with important implications for agriculture and for understanding evolutionary transitions between saprophagy and parasitism. This study presents a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Calliphoridae, utilizing 711 of 736 analysed nuclear genes, using anchored hybrid enrichment, from a global collection of blow flies and their relatives. Our results provide a robust and novel reconstruction of the evolutionary history of this group, pinpointing major transitions in larval feeding habits. We argue that saprophagy evolved independently multiple times from invertebrate parasitic ancestors, with vertebrate parasitism emerging from a number of different feeding strategies. These findings challenge prior hypotheses and offer new insights into the adaptive traits driving trophic specialization and diversification in this group.
Authors
- Pierfilippo Cerretti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9204-3352)
- Jeffrey D. Wells (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9716-1999)
- Tatiana Teixeira Torres (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4286-3504)
- Arianna Thomas‐Cabianca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2126-6222)
- Aram Mikaelyan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7276-0194)
- Brian K. Cassel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7516-4921)
- Kelly A. Meiklejohn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6125-2963)
- John Soghigian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4469-2072)
- Maxwell J. Scott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6536-4735)
- Brian M. Wiegmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1869-9759)
- James F. Wallman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2504-6075)
- Krzysztof Szpila (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3039-3146)
- David K. Yeates (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7729-6143)
- Paul V. Hickner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2350-0625)
- Liping Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2285-5048)
- Cristian Beza-Beza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3276-4876)
- Keith M. Bayless (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8283-7052)
- Nikolas P. Johnston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4208-4666)
- Andrzej Grzywacz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3745-5992)
- Dong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6427-7867)
- Thomas Pape (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6609-0609)
- E. M. Bailey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4555-5972)
Institutions
- University of Technology Sydney (AU)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- North Carolina State University (US)
- University of Calgary (CA)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Florida International University (US)
- University of Wollongong (AU)
- Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL)
- Beijing Forestry University (CN)
- Australian National Insect Collection (AU)
- Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden (DE)
- Natural History Museum Aarhus (DK)
- Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory (US)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Systematic Entomology
- Published
- 2025-12-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.70018
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.34
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Narodowym Centrum Nauki