Adult Longevity and Reproductive Capacity in Cochliomyia Macellaria (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Reared On An Alternative Diet

Abstract

The search for alternative diets that are cheap and maintain rearing stock quality is very important. The objective of the present study was to assess the adult longevity and reproductive capacity of Cochliomyia macellaria derived from juveniles reared on a chicken gizzard diet compared to those fed beef diet. Couples were formed shortly after adult emergence and distributed in four cages, totaling 40 couples per treatment, and maintained at 30 °C day/28 °C night, 70 ± 10% RH, and a 12 hour light period. Chicken gizzards or beef were offered according to the treatment to stimulate oviposition. The mean weight of the egg mass (1.063 g; 1.12 g), mean weight of the egg mass/day (0.0658 g; 0.0698 g), and the mean weight of the egg mass/female/day (0.0118 g; 0.0125 g) did not differ significantly between the chicken gizzard and beef diets, respectively. The mean number of eggs/g (8221.23; 8569.29) and the mean viability of eggs (99%; 94%) did not differ significantly by a Student t-test, (a = 5%) for the chicken gizzard and beef diets, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier non-parametric method and the Weibull parametric regression method found no differences (in days) in the mean total longevity (37 vs. 38) and mean estimated longevity of males (41.08 vs. 40.04) and females (33.79 vs. 36.29) fed chicken gizzards and beef, respectively. The maximum longevity was 74 days for both diets. The chicken gizzard diet is an efficacious and cheap alternative for rearing C. macellaria in the laboratory.