Effects of larval diets on some biological parameters and morphometric and biochemical analysis of ovaries of Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Authors: SELEM, GAMILA - Zagazig University; Geden, Christopher - Chris; KHATER, HANEM - Benha University; KHATER, KARIMA - Zagazig University

Submitted to: Journal of Vector Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/9/2023
Publication Date: 7/21/2023
Citation: Selem, G., Geden, C.J., Khater, H., Khater, K.S. 2023. Effects of larval diets on some biological parameters and morphometric and biochemical analysis of ovaries of Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Journal of Vector Ecology. 48(2):72-77. https://doi.org/10.52707/1081-1710-48.2.72.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52707/1081-1710-48.2.72

Interpretive Summary: Lucilia cuprina, also known as the Australian sheep strike blow fly, is responsible for enormous losses in the sheep industry because of the flies’ habit of laying eggs on the fleece of the animals’ hind area. Larvae then feed on dead and healthy tissue, causing skin and fleece to slough off and often resulting in infection of the tissue by microbes. Larvae are also used medically for wound treatment in people, and their presence and age are important for determining the time of death at crime scenes. In this study, researchers in Egypt and USDA’s Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE) in Gainesville, FL, compared fly development on three different larval diets: chicken meat, beef meat, and beef liver. Flies that developed on liver were less successful than on either of the meats and took about 12% longer to complete development. The results are useful for extrapolating time-of-death estimates from animals to situations involving human remains.

Technical Abstract: The effects of three larval diets (beef meat, chicken meat, and beef liver) on development of Lucilia cuprina were evaluated. Egg hatching rates were higher on chicken meat and beef meat (99.5%) than on beef liver (96.5%). Pupation success was higher on chicken meat (99.0%) and beef meat (98.0%) than on beef liver (87.1%). Adult emergence rates were higher in flies reared on chicken meat (99.0%) and beef meat (98.5%) than on beef liver (93.5%). Proportions of female flies were somewhat higher in flies reared on chicken meat or beef meat (54-56% female) than on beef liver (52.5%). Flies that were reared on chicken meat and beef meat had shorter egg-adult development times (16.3 days) than flies reared on beef liver (18.5 days), and the generation time of flies reared on chicken meat or beef meat (51-52 days) was several days shorter than flies reared on beef liver (54 days). Flies reared on chicken meat had larger ovaries and more ovarioles per ovary when larvae were reared on chicken than flies reared on beef meat or beef liver. Ovaries of flies reared on chicken meat had significantly higher amounts of protein (21 mg/g body weight) than flies reared on beef liver (12 mg). Analysis of the larval diets showed that beef liver had the lowest amounts of protein and carbohydrate of the three tested diets; amounts of lipids did not differ among the diets.