scholarly journals The lethal effects of low temperatures on the immature stages of three species of flies, Musca domestica L., Phormia regina (Meigen) and Aldrichina grahami (Aldrich)

1986 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuo BUEI
Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 280
Author(s):  
Krystal R. Hans ◽  
Sherah L. Vanlaerhoven

Estimates of the minimum post-mortem interval (mPMI) using the development rate of blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are common in modern forensic entomology casework. These estimates are based on single species developing in the absence of heterospecific interactions. Yet, in real-world situations, it is not uncommon to have 2 or more blow fly species developing on a body. Species interactions have the potential to change the acceptance of resources as suitable for oviposition, the timing of oviposition, growth rate, size and development time of immature stages, as well as impacting the survival of immature stages to reach adult. This study measured larval development and growth rate of the blow flies Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826), Phormia regina (Meigen, 1826) and Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae) over five constant temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, 35 °C), in the presence of conspecifics or two-species heterospecific assemblages. Temperature and species treatment interacted such that L. sericata larvae gained mass more rapidly when in the presence of P. regina at 20 and 30 °C, however only developed faster at first instar. At later stages, the presence of P. regina slowed development of L. sericata immatures. Development time of C. vicina immatures was not affected by the presence of P. regina, however larvae gained mass more slowly. Development time of P. regina immatures was faster in the presence of either L. sericata or C. vicina until third instar, at which point, the presence of L. sericata was neutral whereas C. vicina negatively impacted development time. Phormia regina larvae gained mass more rapidly in the presence of L. sericata at 20 °C but were negatively impacted at 25 °C by the presence of either L. sericata or C. vicina. The results of this study indicate that metrics such as development time or larval mass used for estimating mPMI with blow flies are impacted by the presence of comingled heterospecific blow fly assemblages. As the effects of heterospecific assemblages are not uniformly positive or negative between stages, temperatures or species combinations, more research into these effects is vital. Until then, caution should be used when estimating mPMI in cases with multiple blow fly species interacting on a body.


2003 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 722-728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Alejandra Labud ◽  
Liliana Graciela Semenas ◽  
Francisca Laos

OBJECTIVE: Odorous compounds produced at the biosolids composting plant in Bariloche (NW Patagonia) attract a variety of insects, mainly belonging to the order Diptera. In order to characterize these flies, collected specimens were taxonomically identified, their community characteristics were described and their sanitary and synanthropic importance and autochthonous or introduced character were determined. METHODS: Sampling was performed from October 1999 until March 2000. Adults were collected using an entomological net, and larvae and puparia were obtained from the composting material and incubated to obtain adults. Richness, abundance and sex ratio were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 9 taxa of Diptera were identified: Sarconesia chlorogaster, Phaenicia sericata, Calliphora vicina, Cochliomya macellaria, Ophyra sp, Muscina stabulans, Musca domestica, Sarcophaga sp and Fannia sp. Specimens of Anthomyiidae, Acaliptratae and one larva of Eristalis tenax were also found. Ophyra sp. was the most abundant taxa. All the captured Diptera belonged to introduced taxa. Most of them are considered to be eusynanthropic and/or hemisynanthropic and have sanitary importance as they may cause myiasis and pseudomyiasis. The high number of females registered and the finding of immature stages indicated that flies can develop their complete life cycle on biosolid composting windrows. CONCLUSIONS: The characterization of flies obtained in this study may be useful for defining locations of urban or semi-urban composting facilities. It also highlights the importance of sanitary precautions at such plants.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 1158-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Michael Barrett

A tyrosinase, enzyme A, and a laccase, enzyme B, have been partially purified from larval cuticle of the flesh fly Sarcophaga bullata. Enzyme A (EC 1.10.3.1, o-diphenol: O2 oxidoreductase) oxidizes o-diphenols but not p-diphenols, is strongly inhibited by phenylthiourea, and has a pH optimum around pH 6.5–7.0. Assays on intact cuticle suggest that it becomes maximally activated at pH between 8 and 9. Enzyme B (EC 1.10.3.2, p-diphenol: O2 oxidoreductase) oxidizes both o-diphenols and p-diphenols, is not inhibited by phenylthiourea but is inhibited by concentrations of sodium azide that have little effect on enzyme A, and has a pH optimum near pH 4.5. Enzyme A was identified in extracts of cuticle from nine other species representing five orders. Enzyme B was much less readily extractable but was partially purified from larval cuticle of Phormia regina, Musca domestica, and Lucilia sericata. A summary of all species studied to date makes possible the test of a hypothesis about the distribution of these cuticular phenoloxidases within the Insecta.


1969 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-376
Author(s):  
E. F. Legner ◽  
E. C. Bay ◽  
C. W. McCoy

Immature stages of Musca domestica L. were sampled in Puerto Rico during 1903 for the purpose of securing parasitic material for use in biological control work in California. Six hymenopterous parasites were discovered in more or less stable breeding sites. One undescribed species of Diapriidae, Trichopria sp., and five Pteromalidae, Spalangia endius Walker, Spalangia nigroaenea Curtis, Spalangia slomoxysiae Girault, Muscidifurax raptor Girault and Sanders, and Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (Rond.) were involved. Parasitization at any given collection site ranged from 1.4 to 25 percent of viable pupae. The Central and West Central Sections of the Island showed highest parasite activity. The role of predators other than ants was thought to be of prime importance in natural control of the more advanced immature stages of houseflies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1661-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Sol De Majo ◽  
Gabriela Zanotti ◽  
Raúl E Campos ◽  
Sylvia Fischer

Abstract Most studies of the effects of low temperature on the development of immature stages of Aedes aegypti (L.) have been performed at constant temperatures in the laboratory, which may not accurately reflect the variable environmental conditions in the field. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of constant temperatures (CT) and fluctuating low temperatures (FT) on the fitness of Ae. aegypti of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Three CT treatments (12, 14, and 16°C) and three FT treatments (12, 14, and 16°C ± 4°C) were performed and then survival, development time, and size of adults analyzed for each treatment. The immature stages completed development in all the treatments, with an average survival of 88% at 16°C, 85% at 14°C, and 22% at 12°C, and showed no differences between the CT and FT treatments. Development times were similar between the CT and FT treatments at 16°C (average ± SD: 22.7 ± 2.0 d) and at 14°C (average ± SD: 30.5 ± 2.5 d), whereas at 12°C, they lasted longer under CT (average ± SD: 46.6 ± 5.1 d) than under FT (average ± SD: 37 ± 6.5 d). The sizes of the adults at 12 and 14°C were similar but larger than those at 16°C, and showed no differences between the CT and FT treatments. Compared to populations of other geographical regions assessed in previous studies, the shorter development times and the high survival at 14 and 16°C, and the ability to complete development at 12°C, a fact not previously reported, suggest that the Ae. aegypti population of Buenos Aires city has a higher tolerance to these conditions.


1948 ◽  
Vol 26d (1) ◽  
pp. 26-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Bucher ◽  
A. Wilkes ◽  
J. W. MacB. Cameron

Investigations are reported on factors influencing the survival of housefly (Musca domestica L.) puparia exposed to different intensities of low temperature storage above 1 °C. Survival was decreased by lowering the temperature of storage and by increasing the duration of the storage period, or both. Mortality of adults following puparial storage was influenced by the type of rearing container used, crowding, age of puparia, humidity, concentration of gases in the pupal rearing chambers, and to some extent by changes in the food of the immature larvae but not by the age or sex ratio of the parental stock, the size of puparia, selective breeding of resistant individuals or different strains of stock. Death did not occur in cold storage but during subsequent incubation at normal temperatures and at a definite stage in development near adult emergence. Temperatures below the threshold of development caused physiological disturbances that affected the longevity, oviposition, and hatchability of eggs of the adults that survived. A proposed explanation is given of the lethal effects of low temperatures based on the interrelationships of disturbances between the relative rates of development and differentiation of various ontogenetic systems.


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