In everyday speech, the word maggot means the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies. "Maggot" is not a technical term and should not be taken as such; in many standard textbooks of entomology it does not appear in the index at all. In many texts (generally non-technical...
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In everyday speech, the word maggot means the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies. "Maggot" is not a technical term and should not be taken as such; in many standard textbooks of entomology it does not appear in the index at all. In many texts (generally non-technical) the term is used for insect larvae in general, but this is likely to be misleading as well as pointless. Other sources have coined their own arbitrary, often vague, definitions, which is a frequent complication with non-technical terms; for example: "... The term applies to a grub when all trace of limbs has disappeared ..." and "...Applied to the footless larvae of Dipters."
Maggot-like fly larvae are of wide importance in ecology, economy, and medicine; among other roles, various species are prominent in recycling carrion and garbage,...
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