title: Bacteria mediate oviposition by the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).
abstract: There can be substantial negative consequences for insects colonizing a resource in the presence of competitors. We hypothesized that bacteria, associated with an oviposition resource and the insect eggs deposited on that resource, serve as a mechanism regulating subsequent insect attraction, colonization, and potentially succession of insect species. We isolated and identified bacterial species associated with insects associated with vertebrate carrion and used these bacteria to measure their influence on the oviposition preference of adult black soldier flies which utilizes animal carcasses and is an important species in waste management and forensics. We also ascertained that utilizing a mixture of bacteria, rather than a single species, differentially influenced behavioral responses of the flies, as did bacterial concentration and the species of fly from which the bacteria originated. These studies provide insight into interkingdom interactions commonly occurring during decomposition, but not commonly studied.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Longyu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Tawni L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Crippen
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Baneshwar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Meaghan L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Pimsler
authors.forename: M Eric
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Benbow
authors.forename: Aaron M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Tarone
authors.forename: Scot
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dowd
authors.forename: Ziniu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Sherah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Vanlaerhoven
authors.forename: Thomas K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Jeffery K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Tomberlin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D010058:Oviposition / Q000502:physiology*; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology*