Editing Maggot (section)

==Etymology==
"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.<ref>Comstock, John Henry, An Introduction to Entomology. Comstock publishing, 1930.</ref><ref name="bn0-412-61390-5">{{cite book |author1=Richards, O. W. |author2=Davies, R. G. |title=Imms' General Textbook of Entomology: Volume 1: Structure, Physiology and Development Volume 2: Classification and Biology |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin |year=1977 |isbn=0-412-61390-5}}</ref> In many non-technical texts, the term is used for insect [[larvae]] in general. Other sources have coined their own definitions; for example: "The term applies to a [[Beetle#Larva|grub]] when all trace of limbs has disappeared"<ref>Jardine, N. K. The Dictionary of Entomology. 1913.</ref> and "Applied to the footless larvae of Diptera".<ref name="JBSmith">Smith, John. B. [https://archive.org/details/explanationofter22748gut Explanation of terms used in entomology]. Brooklyn Entomological Society, 1906.</ref> Additionally, in ''Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera'', the author claims maggots "are larvae of higher Brachycera ([[Cyclorrhapha]])."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marshall |first1=Stephen A |title=Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera |date=2012 |publisher=Firefly Books Ltd. |isbn=978-1-77085-100-9 |page=22}}</ref>

Maggot-like fly larvae are of significance in [[ecology]] and [[medicine]]; among other roles, various species are prominent in recycling [[carrion]] and garbage, attacking [[Tephritidae|crops]] and [[Piophilidae|foodstuffs]], spreading microbial infections, and causing [[myiasis]]. Maggots are also particularly important in [[forensic entomology]] because their development can help determine the time of death, particularly maggots in the [[Calliphoridae]] family.<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Greenberg
 | first1 = Bernard
 | last2 = Kunich
 | first2 = John Charles
 | title = Entomology and the Law: Flies as Forensic Indicators
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | date = 2002
 | location = New York
 | language = en
 | isbn = 978-0-521-01957-6}}</ref>