title: Ovarian development in the blowflies Chrysomya putoria and C. megacephala on natural diets.
abstract: Fresh human, chicken and cattle faeces were compared as diets for adult female blowflies Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) and C.putoria (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). As controls, sugar and raw beef liver were used. For females of both species, fresh beef liver was the best of these diets: oogenesis was completed in 10-13 days. Human or chicken faeces facilitated slower oogenesis in 27-48 days. On a diet of cattle faeces, C.putoria females began vitellogenesis only 17 days after emergence, whereas females of C.megacephala remained previtellogenic until the end of the experiment (56 days).
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biology, Unicamp, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: A X
authors.initials: AX
authors.lastname: Linhares
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Avancini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens; D004032:Diet; D004175:Diptera / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D005243:Feces; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver; D009866:Oogenesis