Aggregation and habitat use by Lucilia blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in pasture

Abstract

The spatial distribution of blowflies of the genus Lucilia within fields in south west England was examined in 1999 and 2000. Blowflies are economically important agents of sheep myiasis in the UK and understanding local aggregation is an essential step in the development of appropriate sampling and fly control regimes. Fifty, 20 x 20 cm, non-odour-baited, sticky traps were used to catch flies, at randomized, 10 x 10 m grid co-ordinates in fields of permanent pasture. Clear aggregations were evident in all Lucilia distributions. All values of the sigma2:mean ratio were greater than 1. The catches were shown to be highly aggregated using Morisita's index of aggregation. Generalized linear modelling of binary presence/absence catch data was used to relate aggregation to microclimate and habitat. Deletion testing was used to identify significant terms in the models. In general, Lucilia blowflies were predominantly caught around the edges, in warmer and more humid areas of the field. The relationship between microhabitat and the distribution of Lucilia collected in 1999 was used as predictive model to explain the catches made in two fields in 2000. This gave a highly significant fit in one field (P = 0.001) and a relationship which approached significance in the second (P = 0.08). However, these regressions suggest that the relationships between abundance and microhabitat are complex and that 'hot spots' of blowfly catches were not necessarily found in the most extreme microclimate conditions. Nevertheless, microhabitat features do give a relatively good guide to presence or absence of Lucilia in the trap catches, thereby providing important information about the most appropriate location of traps to maximize and standardize sampling and control regimes.

First Record of Traumatic Myiasis Obtained From Forest Musk Deer (Moschus Berezovskii) Using Dna Barcoding

“…The Breeding Center is located in the Qinling Mountains with dense forest and an altitude of 1496 meters. At the time of this case, it was summer with warmer and more humid, which is in line with the preferred habitat of the L. caesar [32].…”

Temperature-dependent appearance of forensically useful flies on carcasses

“…From this point of view, air temperature seems to be particularly important for the current results. It was found that ambient air temperature is a positive predictor for visitation on non-odor sticky traps by adult Lucilia flies [ 47 ] and for blowfly oviposition on a beef liver bait [ 37 ]. These results directly demonstrate that forensically relevant aspects of blowfly activity are mediated by temperature.…”

Is Forensic Entomology Lost in Space?

“…Space and time are the two variables at the origin of all variation because, ultimately, even abiotic variability is driven by these variables. While time has been of great concern to forensic entomologists as evidenced by the importance of research on the postmortem interval, the period of insect activity [34] and the pre-appearance interval [35], space remains an essentially unexplored dimension (but see [5][6][7][8]). To our knowledge, this study presents the first analysis of regional spatial dynamics in forensic entomology.…”

“…Thus, several parameters that are mostly abiotic in nature were extensively documented for their influence on the development of insect larval stages and on the progression of insect succession on necromass [1,2]. Spatial and scale effects, however, have barely been considered in forensic entomology [3][4][5][6][7][8], despite their pervasive effects on most of the biotic and abiotic parameters affecting insect occurrence and development. Space here refers to the place where the organisms involved in decomposition interact with each other and with the abiotic environment [9].…”