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Calliphora vicina is a species in the family Calliphoridae, the blow flies. The species is particularly important in the field of forensic entomology due to its consistent time of arrival and colonization of the body following death.
This picture is a macro photograph of the head of a C. vicina fly. The head is dominated by a pair of large compound eyes, each composed of several thousand light-receiving units known as ommatidia, arranged in a hexagonal pattern. The ommatidia are elongated and rod-shaped, and are oriented perpendicular to the surface of the eye; each has its own lens and photoreceptor cells. The brain combines the points of light from each of the ommatidia to form a mosaic image. Also visible in the picture are various bristles, pedipalps and mouthparts.Photograph credit: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory