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Estimation of age of females in field populations of Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) using ambient temperature and solar radiation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

T. L. Woodburn
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology, CSIRO, Box 1700, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601, Australia.
W. G. Vogt
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology, CSIRO, Box 1700, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601, Australia.
R. L. Kitching
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology, CSIRO, Box 1700, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601, Australia.

Abstract

A previously published method for determining the physiological age of female Lucilia cuprina (Wied.), based on a linear relationship between their rates of ovarian development and temperature, was tested under field-cage conditions. It was found that ovarian development was more rapid than that predicted by thermal summation based on ambient temperature. A re-examination of the rate of development-ambient temperature relationship, over a wider temperature range that that used previously, showed that the development threshold temperature was 8·2°C rather than 11·3°C. Thermal summation using the revised threshold also fell short of the observed day-degree totals. An effective temperature for ovarian development (ambient temperature plus a temperature excess proportional to the incoming solar radiation intensity) was fitted to the data from the field cage. This relationship gave accurate predictions of ovarian development (±8%) for flies that were released into the field.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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