STUDENT NAMES: Keenisha Kannan, Jasmine Kaur and Jhanavi.H

COLLEGE/SCHOOL: CMR National PU College, ITPL, Bangalore.

SPECIMEN: Blue Bottle fly

SPECIMEN OBSERVED AT: CMR National PU College at ITPL, Bangalore on 27nd August 2019

We observed various parts of a housefly in our biology lab under foldscope. The specimen was provided by Anjali Manoj

Scientific name: Calliphora vomitoria

1. The outer skin – The outer shell of the fly was observed to be greenish blue when viewed through naked eye but when observed under the foldscope it was seen to be brownish blue in colour. The insect’s body which looked blue was due to the reflecting blue light so the tissues looked brown. Many insects have this kind of colour which is due to the reflecting blue light. The housefly in fact does not have a blue pigment.

2. The wing – The wings of the fly when magnified under the foldscope

3. Compound eyes – The housefly had oval shaped eyes with many smaller units of hexagonal shaped eyelets

4. The legs – The legs of the housefly looked hairy under the foldscope