An alternative chicken-based diet for mass-rearing screwworm flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Authors: Hickner, Paul; SAGEL, AGUSTIN - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); QUINTERO, GLADYS - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); VASQUEZ, MARIO - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); Tietjen, Mackenzie; Lohmeyer, Kimberly - Kim; Arp, Alex

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/16/2023
Publication Date: 11/25/2023
Citation: Hickner, P.V., Sagel, A., Quintero, G., Vasquez, M., Tietjen, M., Lohmeyer, K.H., Arp, A.P. 2023. An alternative chicken-based diet for mass-rearing screwworm flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Journal of Economic Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad219.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad219

Interpretive Summary: New World screwworm is the larval form of a parasitic fly of warm-blooded animals that causes cause considerable damage to livestock in endemic regions. Screwworm was eradicated from North and Central America from the mid-20th to the early 21st century using the sterile insect technique (SIT). The SIT relies on mass-rearing, sterilizing, and releasing large numbers of flies to mate with wild females so they do not lay fertile eggs. Presently, a barrier between Central and South America is maintained by releasing sterile flies along the Panama-Columbia border. The cost of the production facility, labor, and diet materials makes mass-rearing the most expensive component of the program. The mass-rearing diet has a large impact on the quality and quantity of insects produced, both of which are necessary for successful implementation of the SIT. The diet currently being used to rear screwworm flies in Panama contains dried bovine red blood cells, dried bovine plasma, egg powder, milk replacement powder, cellulose (thickening agent), formaldehyde (antimicrobial), and water. Here, we tested an alternative diet containing two chicken by-products (CBP), which cost less and are locally available, to replace the egg powder and milk replacement powder currently used in the diet. We used two screwworm colony strains in our test, the current production strain and an early female lethal strain. The CBP diet performed similarly to the production diet with J-06, while further optimization will likely be needed for female lethal strain. Finally, we conducted nutritional analysis of seven diet components to assist with diet optimization and the identification of alternative diet components.

Technical Abstract: New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), was eradicated from North and Central America from the mid-20th to the early 21st century using the sterile insect technique (SIT). Presently, a barrier between Central and South America is maintained by releasing sterile flies along the Panama-Columbia border. The cost of the production facility, labor, and diet materials makes mass-rearing the most expensive component of the program. The mass-rearing diet has a large impact on the quality and quantity of insects produced, both of which are necessary for successful implementation of the SIT. The diet currently being used to rear screwworm flies in Panama contains dried bovine red blood cells, dried bovine plasma, egg powder, milk replacement powder, cellulose (thickening agent), formaldehyde (antimicrobial), and water. Here, we tested an alternative diet containing two chicken by-products (CBP), which cost less and are locally available, to replace the egg powder and milk replacement powder currently used in the diet. We used two screwworm colony strains in our test, the current production strain (J-06) and an early female lethal strain (TD1#12). The CBP diet performed similarly to the production diet with J-06, while further optimization will likely be needed for TD1#12. Finally, we conducted nutritional analysis of seven diet components to assist with diet optimization and the identification of alternative diet components.