There are 108 genera within the family Sarcophagidae, containing about 2,500 species of flesh flies. Distributed throughout the world, flesh flies differ from most other flies such as house flies; they are ovoviviparous. Instead of depositing eggs, flesh flies deposit hatched or hatching maggots directly onto carrion, dung, open animal wounds or decaying material. Flesh flies are known to carry the leprosy bacilli, but cannot pass it onto humans directly; as adults, flesh flies do not bite.
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The Phoenicians and Carthaginians were the first to leave their mark on Algeria. With the defeat of Carthage, Numidia sprang forth. The Romans had a strong alliance with Numidia and converted it into a province remaining under Rome’s control for several centuries. The eventual decline of the Roman Empire opened Northern Africa to the Ottoman Turks, who retained the area from 1517 until losing Algeria to the French in 1830. The French stayed until independence was achieved in 1962.
