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A method of age determination in Lucilia cuprina (Wied.) (Diptera, Calliphoridae) using cyclic changes in the female reproductive system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

W. G. Vogt
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology, CSIRO, P.O. Box 1700, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601, Australia
T. L. Woodburn
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology, CSIRO, P.O. Box 1700, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601, Australia
Marina Tyndale-Biscoe
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology, CSIRO, P.O. Box 1700, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601, Australia

Abstract

The stage of egg formation and density of follicular relics enable Lucilia cuprina (Wied.) females to be sorted into 16 ovarian stages, covering the period from emergence to the beginning of the fourth ovarian cycle. The correspondence between the actual age of a fly and its stage of ovarian development was determined at constant temperatures. Where developmental delays were absent, “reproductive age” gave reliable estimates of actual age under both constant and fluctuating temperature regimes. In the field protein shortages and lack of oviposition sites may prolong the time required to complete each ovarian cycle, and flies will be older than their ovaries would indicate. In practice the ovarian stages described provide estimates of minimum age for L. cuprina females.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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