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This may be the answer, Andrzej, but it seems very unlikely that Robineau-Desvoidy would have mixed Latin and Greek roots in the same word - and I don't think his peers would have let him get away with it if he had. The phora root is usually from Greek pherein = 'carry', but callus is Latin. If he meant 'callus-bearing' he should have put Callifer or Callifera.

In Greek the calli part must mean 'beautiful' (as in 'calligraphy' etc.). The phor root is used in many ways. It can mean 'carrier' (Hydrophoria) or, in botany, stalk (the carrying part), but I think it may also refer to the thing carried. I wonder if he meant it to mean the abdomen (like a street porter's burden), or even just the clothes. The abdomen is the most obviously 'beautiful' part of a bluebottle. I'm not at all sure about this, which is why I asked the question.

Marek's post arrived while I was writing this, and the 'beautiful thief' idea is a possibility - Phor with a long 'o' does mean 'thief' in Greek. Maybe Robineau-Desvoidy objected to Calliphora vicina stealing his dinner!

Thanks Chris and Marek for the useful references. I must see if I can find the Lepidoptera book.

David, of course you are right about the halteres! Are there any names that refer to them?