A review of the natural history and laboratory culture methods for the yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria.

W U Blanckenhorn,L F Bussière,A J Pemberton,J Roembke,K D Floate

doi:10.1673/031.010.1101

Abstract

The yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (L.) (Diptera: Scathophagidae) is a widespread and locally abundant fly associated with the dung of large mammals, especially farm animals. This species has recently become a standard test organism for evaluating toxic effects of veterinary pharmaceuticals in livestock dung. In this context, a review of its natural history and a general description of the field and laboratory rearing methods of this species are provided here to benefit the scientific community as well as government regulators and applicants of eco-toxicological studies. For guidance, means and ranges are included for all relevant standard life history traits stemming from previously published data on Swiss populations.

Highlights

The yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (L.) (Diptera: Scathophagidae) is a widespread and locally abundant fly associated with the dung of large mammals
During the past 40 years, this fly has been the subject of numerous studies on mating behavior and sperm competition (Parker 1970a,b,c, 1978), post-copulatory sexual selection and sexual conflict (Ward 2000; Hosken et al 2001), reproductive physiology (Hosken and Ward 1999; Reim et al 2006), foraging (Blanckenhorn and Viele 1999), life history evolution (Blanckenhorn 1998a,b; Teuschl et al 2007), thermal biology (Blanckenhorn and Llaurens 2005), developmental stability and fluctuating asymmetry (Strong and James 1992; Swaddle 1997; Hosken et al 2000; Webb et al 2007, Floate and Coghlin 2010), phylogenetics (Bernasconi et al 2001), quantitative genetics (Blanckenhorn 2002), and population genetics (Kraushaar et al 2002)
S. stercoraria have been used to test for non-target effects of chemical residues in dung of livestock treated with veterinary pharmaceuticals (e.g. Sommer et al 1992; Strong and James 1992; Floate 1998, 2007; Webb et al 2007, Floate and Coghlin 2010)

Summary

Introduction

The yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (L.) (Diptera: Scathophagidae) is a widespread and locally abundant fly associated with the dung of large mammals. Freshly laid eggs can be scooped with a small spatula directly into a plastic vessel containing fresh dung and plugged with a stopper, wherein the larvae can subsequently hatch and develop in the laboratory.

Results

Conclusion