Dinner for two?
I like to leave some apples under the tree for nature to enjoy. Blackbirds and thrushes enjoy a rotting apple, and so does my dog! But yesterday in the autumn sunshine it was the butterflies that were making the most of it. And hundreds of Green Bottle flies too.
Green Bottle fly
I’ve read some pretty crazy facts about Green Bottles. They occur all over the world and in some places they’re a real nuisance. In the US they are termed ‘Filth Feeders’ because they develop and feed on dead animals, faeces, rubbish and rotting plant materials. Because of their unsanitary habitats, they can carry pathogenic bacteria that can be transmitted to people and animals. Yuck!
Did you know:
- Green Bottle flies can travel up to 10 miles
- One female will lay 2,000-3,000 eggs in her lifetime
- In one season there will be 3-4 generations of Green Bottles
- A Green Bottle lives for about 30 days
Scary diseases carried by Green Bottles include E. Coli, Dysentery, Cholera, the Plague, Anthrax, Tuberculosis and Myiasis. SO if you’re one of those people that like to pick fruit straight from the tree and eat it whilst communing with nature, don’t forget that a Green Bottle might have already been sitting on it. And Green Bottles are‘Filth Feeders’ so you might want to wash your fruit first…
Bepton Ranger 