False-colour scanning electron micrograph of a maggot (2 hours old) of the greenbottle, or green blow fly, Lucilia caesar, feeding on a piece of raw beef. The greenbottle lays its eggs in places promising abundant food for the future maggots (i.e. rotting vegetation, dung piles, exposed food & corpses). The mouth end (not visible) tapers into a thin wedge with two mouth hooks to stabilise the maggot. Secreted enzymes breakdown & liquify the meat which, is then absorbed. After 2 moults (3-4 days), the maggots (larvae) pupate. Adult flies frequent unsavoury places & as a result pick up & transmit diseases to humans. Magnification: x22 at 6x4.5cm.