The female, lays her eggs from where she feeds. This can be on rotting meat, faeces, and anywhere food is left to decay (rubbish bins etc.) Within a day or two the larvae emerge, they are a milky white in colour and are commonly known as maggots. The maggots immediately begin feeding for a few days. When they have finished eating, the maggots will crawl away and start to burrow into a dry place to pupate; usually in soil or a similar material. After two to three weeks, the adult flies begin to emerge from the hard-cased cocoons. Then they will promptly start to mate, completing the Calliphora vomitoria life cycle. (egg, larva, pupa, and adult fly).
Adult Blue bottles also feed on nectar and are effective pollinators of flowers, especially those flowers giving a strong odour resembling rotten meat.
