Lucilia Illustris Research Articles

The structure of carrion fly communities: the size and the type of carrion

Species composition and abundance relations of flies attracted to and bred from different sizes (20‐100 g) and types of carrion (small mammal, cow liver, bird, and fish) were studied experimentally in natural breeding conditions in South Finland. Large pieces of carrion did not attract significantly more individuals or species than did small ones, but there was a positive correlation between size of carrion and numbers of flies bred, apparently because of competition. Altogether 10 species emerged from 50 cultures, and on average 2.78 ± 1.22 (SD) species emerged from one culture. The number of co‐occurrences among the emerging flies indicated random colonization. Variation in species composition between like pieces of carrion was not less than variation between carcasses of different size or type; hence, size and type of carrion are not important determinants of community structure within the size and type ranges used. Lucilia illustris (Meig.) was the predominant species, comprising 50% of flies trapped and 85% of flies bred. The difference indicates changing species composition in the community. Two sets of cultures were left open for egg‐laying for 2 and 7 d. Competition was less Intensive in the former cultures, which produced 4.0 individuals per gram of carrion, contrasting with only 1.4 individuals per gram in the latter cultures. Competition delayed development in all species, but least in L. illustris, which suggests that fast developing species are at a competitive advantage. In agreement with this, abundance was positively correlated with the rate of development.

Microsomal oxidase activity of three blowfly species and its induction by phenobarbital and β-naphtoflavone

Induction of the microsomal oxidase system by dietary phenobarbital and β-naphthoflavone was examined in three blowflies, Phormia regina (Mg.), Lucilia illustris (Mg.), and Eucalliphora lilica (Walk.). Responses were similar in adults and larvae of all species. Phenobarbital increased cytochrome P-450 levels up to 9-fold and aldrin epoxidase up to 138-fold. Increases in cytochrome P-450 and aldrin epoxidase caused by β-naphthoflavone were minor relative to those produced by phenobarbital. In toxicity experiments with carbaryl and propoxur tolerance was associated with the amount of microsomal oxidase activity. Using piperonyl butoxide to synergize carbaryl and propoxur there was no clear indication for the use of either the synergist ratio or synergist difference as an indicator of microsomal oxidase activity.

An Interpolation Model of Assimilation by Larvae of the Blowfly Lucilia illustris (Calliphoridae) in Changing Temperatures

A simple mathematical model was constructed on the basis of the results of experiments conducted at constant temperatures. The rate of development predicted was too rapid, but a reduction of 10 % in the production rate was sufficient to decrease it to near the observed one. There were indications of slight time lags in the fluctuation of the respiration rate at changing temperatures. It is suggested that the influence of temperature conditions on the net production efficiency (production/assimilation) of larvae is highest during the most intensive growth period. The effect of the time of day at which the larvae hatch on the duration of development was studied in the model, and the results are considered with reference to the regional coexistence of many species in the carrion microhabitat. It is suggested that the outcome of competition in the individual pieces of carrion depends upon the order of arrival of the different species, and that regional species diversity is thus increased by the patchy occurrence of the microhabitat in space and time.

Studies on the behaviour of Lucilia illustris Meigen as a parasite of vertebrates under experimental conditions.

When egg-masses of Lucilia illustris, taken from carcasses, were mounted on the body of living vertebrates (Clarius batrachus, Bufo melanostictus, Rana tigrina, Hemidactylus fluviviridis, Columba livia and Suncus murinus), the larvae hatched in the majority of cases under normal conditions of room temperature, and entered into the body of the experimental hosts, ultimately killing them. It appeared that the larvae fed on the brain first before turning their attention to other soft tissues of the hosts. The specimens fed on living tissue had a shorter period of development than those bred on dead animals and the period of development was shortest when the host was a living warm-blooded animal.Thanks are due to Mr H. Oldroyd of the British Museum of Natural History, London, for kindly identifying the fly. The authors also wish to thank Dr T. N. Ghosh of the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, who helped with literature; and Dr S. K. Das Gupta, of the Darjeeling Government College, who helped with suggestions at the time of preparing the manuscript.

Insects trapped by the pollinial apparatus of milkweed, Asclepias syriaca L., in Dunn Township, Ontario

Fifty insects trapped in flowers of A. syriaca and collected on July 22, 1967, in Dunn Township, Ontario, included a beetle, Ellychnia sp.; the moth Cissipes fulvicollis; the butterfly Thymelicus lineola; the flies Syritta pipiens, Sphaerophoria robusta, Paregle radicum, Musca autumnalis, Pollenia rudis, Lucilia illustris, Bufolucilia silvarum, Wohlfahrtia vigil, Helicobia rapax, Ravinia sp., and Cylindromyia sp.; the ant Formica fusca; and the honeybee Apis mellifica. The latter two were the insects trapped in the largest numbers.

新潟県のハエについて

In 1955, with the assistance of 16 health centers in Niigata Prefecture, flies of medical importance were collected by means of a cage or ribbon trap throughout the year. They totalled 30, 751 specimens consisting of 18, 181 outdoor flies (15, 308, collected in an open field, plus 2, 873, trapped in such mountain areas as Kushigatayama, Ginzan-daira and Oze) and 12, 570 indoor ones. As shown in the classification table, they were classified into 10 families, 32 genera and 61 species. To describe the fly fauna, in family Muscidae, Muscina angustifrons held a superiority in every region. In family Anthomyiidae, both Fannia and Qphyra species were omnipresent, while Ophyra nigra was distributed more densely in a piedmont rather than in a plain. In Greenbottle flies of family Calliphoridae, Phaenica sericata ranked first in inhabitation number in most of the regions. A distribution of P. sericata >Lucilia illustris>L. caesar was observed in most of the region and that of P. sericata>L. caesar>L. illustris in some districts. An uncommon distribution of L. caesar>P. sericata was seen in Sanjo and Koide districts, that of P. sericata>L. caesar>P. cuprina, L. illustris in Niitsu district, and that of P. sericata>L. caesar>Hemipyrelia ligurriens>L. illustris in Sado Island. And L. papuensis, which is usually seen in a mountain area only, inhabited as a common species in Sado Island. Phormia regina and Protophormia terae-novae were found to inhibit in Naoetsu district. This may be of some help in the investigations of such an epidemic as polio. Of Sarcophagid flies, 14 species were discovered in Niigata Prefecture and showed a distribution of Sarcophaga peregrina>S. melanura>S. similis common to every district. It was interesting that S. tsushimae was discovered in Sado Island as well as in Tsushima, and S. polystylata originally discovered in Peiping was found out in a coastal plain along the Japan Sea. Concerning the fauna of indoor flies trapped by a ribbon, a distribution of Musca domestica>Fannia canicularis type was seen in some districts and that of the reverse type in others. Other species of flies were also found in small numbers. It, therefore, followed that many species of flies would invade indoors. Generally most of the flies of medical importance made three appearance in large numbers in spring, summer and autumn. Some species of family Calliphoridae, for instance, Calliphorinii, made their appearance in spring and autumn, and hid themselves in summer while Lucilia species are very common chiefly in summer, as flies of Sarcophagid flies did. Scopeuma stercorarium and Stenodryomyza formosa appears in early spring and late autumn, while Helomyza modesta in late autumn and early winter. Any summer mountains abunded with flies, but a fly fauna in them was fairly different from that in a plain. To enter into details, in both Kushigata-yama and Ginzan-daira, Chrysomya pinguis predominated in numbers; P. sericata hardly made its appearance; L. caesar was relatively numerous; L. papuensis was active as a common species in a mountain as its name suggests, and Calliphora lata and Aldrichina grahami, which, in a plain, do not usually make their appearance during summer, led an active life. Of family Muscidae, Muscina angustifrons was seen most frequently as a common species in a mountain region, and also M. assimilis and M. pabulorum were found easily. Of family Anthomyiidae, Ophyra nigra was distributed comparatively densely, and Hylemyia platura, which is distributed all over the country, was also discovered in the mountain areas. Scopeuma stercorarium and Stenodryomyza formosa were not trapped in those places. As for Sarcophagid flies, a distribution of S. peregrina>S. melanura>S. similis commonly observable in a plain, did not stand for the mountain areas, that is, a distribution of S. peregrina>S. albiceps>S. similis>S. me