Abstract
Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a necrophagous fly of medical and forensic importance used in larval therapy, being its biological development important to establish the post postmortem interval. Animal tissues are generally employed to breed this specie, but these substrates, while decomposing produce bad odors and contamination. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of the life cycle of L. sericata using four different diets: beef liver (H), milk powder (LP), fish (P) and liver powder (HP). This study started from eggs taken from a colony of L. sericata previously established under laboratory conditions (24-27°C, 60% RH, photoperiod 12 hours light). The highest duration in the life cycle from egg to pupa was obtained on the diet LP, and the shortest developmental time was established on the diet HP. On the other hand the shortest longevity of adult flies was attained on the diet H. However, in this food substrate the flies were larger than on the others diets. In general, a higher percentage of females was registered with diets LP and P. Potentially, the three synthetic diets evaluated, revealed characteristics of optimal substrates for the breeding of the flies under laboratory conditions.
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