Larsen, John, De Cat, Sandra, and Anderson, Norman (2007) Studies on the over-wintering ecology of the sheep blowfly in south-eastern Australia. In: Proceedings of the Australian Sheep Veterinarians Conference (17) pp. 18-25. From: Australian Sheep Veterinary Conference, May 2007, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

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Abstract

Ecological studies of the over-wintering and spring emergence of the Australian sheep blowfly (Lucilia cuprina) were undertaken over two consecutive years (2005-06). Replicated cohorts of post-feeding larvae of L. cuprina were placed in containers at an experimental site on a farm in central western Victoria. The numbers of flies emerging each day was used to describe the pattern of emergence, especially for the spring generation of flies. A data-logger was used to obtain detailed measurements of soil and weather conditions. This enabled environmental factors to be related to the emergence of flies. Larvae deposited during spring, summer and early autumn developed rapidly, with median development to adult flies taking 30 days in spring, decreasing to 10 days as soil temperatures increased in summer. A transitional phase of development was observed in larvae deposited during mid-autumn of both years (11-26 April). Some larvae pupated immediately, whilst others entered a state of arrested development and emerged as adults the following spring. The date when the first flies emerged, and when 50% of flies had emerged (‘median emergence’), was similar for larvae deposited in late autumn and winter, regardless of the date they were deposited. This synchronous emergence, in late Sep and early October, was earlier than reported in other studies in Canberra. A high mortality of over-wintering larvae was observed, with from 0-50% of these deposits emerging as flies the following spring. Serial sampling of larvae deposited in May 2006 indicated that pupation of over-wintering larvae commenced after 29 Aug, with 42% of the surviving stages having pupated by 14 Sep. The emergence and environmental data was used to validate existing models of blowfly development and a number of discrepancies were identified.

Item ID:	28981
Item Type:	Conference Item (Non-Refereed Research Paper)
ISSN:	1440-6160
Date Deposited:	26 Aug 2013 23:11
FoR Codes:	07 AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY SCIENCES > 0707 Veterinary Sciences > 070708 Veterinary Parasitology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	83 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 8303 Livestock Raising > 830311 Sheep - Wool @ 100%
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