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Orientation by gravid Australian sheep blowflies, Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae), to fleece and synthetic chemical attractants in laboratory bioassays

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

C.H. Eisemann
C.H. Eisemann*
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
*
C.H. Eisemann, Division of Tropical Animal Production, CSIRO, Long Pocket Laboratories, Private Bag No. 3, Indooroopilly, Queensland 4068, Australia.
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Abstract

Gravid females of Lucilia cuprina (Wiedeman) in a laboratory cage orientated positively to samples of fleece. Newly-wetted fleece was significantly more attractive than dry fleece, an effect resulting from the action of water on the fleece and not just addition of water vapour to the volatile fleece kairomones. Fleece contaminated with serous exudate, resulting from myiasis by L. cuprina, was much more attractive than wet, uncontaminated fleece from the same sheep. Kairomones from wetted fleece consistently augmented the attractive effects of 2-mercaptoethanol and indole in separate experiments, and of hydrogen sulphide (released from saturated aqueous sodium sulphide solution) in one trial out of three, but not overall. It is suggested that volatile fleece kairomones play a part in eliciting orientation to sheep by gravid L. cuprina. Fleece kairomones may augment the efficacy of kairomones released by putrefactive conditions in the fleece, which are known to predispose sheep to fly strike. They may also provide an input which helps to retain L. cuprina populations in the sheep’s peridomestic precinct.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 85 , Issue 4 , December 1995 , pp. 473 - 477
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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