We found that decomposition levels do affect blow flies oviposition (especially the
C. megacephala), in addition, both the highest eggs number laid and the incidence of
oviposition did not appear on the fresh treatment. However, when a body was exposed,
fresh condition is usually of the case, and that kind of the fresh condition will not as
attractive to blow flies as we though before. This study also shows the sequential
oviposition data under different decomposition levels and the oviposition preference
when different decay-aged pork livers were provided simultaneously. We suggest the
factors of water content, microbial composition, emitted VOCs of the oviposition media
should be considered as the possible reasons which might trigger or inhibit the blow fly
oviposition. However, the detailed mechanism that cause those results here are still
unknown. Although we found that 2-day-old pork liver has the highest incidence of
oviposition in our research, it does not mean that C. megacephala will skip the fresh
media without lay eggs in the field. Because we believe insects with such the high
fecundity as C. megacephala do not have to choose the best oviposition media, except the
media is beyond the acceptable condition. In addition, durations in the acceptance phase
of female blow fly did not changed by the different decay-aged media, but the acceptance
duration or the oviposition delay may up to 9 hours which should be carefully considered
in the future applications.
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Figure 1. Experimental set-up of oviposition media. According to our
observation, pork liver would coat a harden layer on the external
surface along the time passed by. Because of the harden coat ing,
texture and decomposition process will be different both in the
external and internal pork liver. In order to minimize those effects,
each decay-aged pork liver we used was homogenized by blender
before experiment. In addition, since the texture of the pork liver was
different in each decay-aged treatment, a fine mesh was covered on
the top to keep the surface texture uniformed and to prevent the blow
fly drowning in the media.
Figure 2. Surveillance system setup. The cover of the bug cage was replaced
with a plastic membrane. On the top of the plastic membrane , covered
with another transparent plastic sheet to prevent the camera crushing
the cover membrane. Both plastic membrane and plastic sheet are
transparent and a hole was opened in the center of cover in order to
set up a camera. We also opened a hole on the right side of the
incubator for the cable connection to the monitor outside the
incubator. The hole on the incubator was sealed with aluminum foil to
minimize the disturbance of light, temperature and humidity in the
incubator.
Figure 3. Field experimental set-up. A cup of pork liver weighted 60 grams
(without cup) was placed inside a wire cage, which can prevent the
possible interference from other vertebrates. A transparent plastic
sheet was covered on the top of the wire cage to avoid rainfall and not
block the exposure of sunlight. Experiments lasted for 8 hours, from
9 am to 5 pm. Replacing the cup of pork liver inside the wire cage
with different decay-aged treatments every day.
Figure 4. The results of field experiments. To test the effects of different decay-aged
pork livers on blow fly oviposition. Six replications were conducted (N=6),
p-value = 0.001. Two-day-old pork liver have the highest number of eggs,
and no egg was laid on the fresh and 8-day-old pork liver. Letter a, b and ab
represent the statistically different groups in each treatment. Two-day-old
pork livers (a) show significant difference with fresh pork liver (b),
7-day-old pork livers (b) and 8-day-7-day-old pork livers (b). The rest of the groups (ab)
show no significant difference in the post analysis.
Figure 5. The results of preference test of C. megacephala oviposition behavior among
different decay-aged treatments inside a bug cage (30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm). Thirteen replications were conducted (N = 13), p-value = 0.001. Ten
adult females were used in each replication. Letter a and b represent the
statistically different groups in each treatment. Four-day-old pork livers (a)
have the highest number of eggs. Eight-day-old pork livers (b) have no egg.
The rest of the treatment groups have no significant different between each
other.
Figure 6. The results of the incidence of oviposition of C. megacephala when single
medium of different decomposition levels was provided in a bug cage (30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm). Binary logistic regression analysis were applied.
Twenty-seven replications were conducted, p-value < 0.001. Different letters
represent statistically different groups in post hoc analysis (Bonferroni test).
2-day-old pork livers (a) have significant difference with 11-day-old pork
livers (b). The rest of the treatment groups have no significant difference
between each other.
Figure 7. The results of duration of acceptance phase when different decay-aged
oviposition media were provided respectively. p-value = 0.822 > 0.05, which
indicate that there are no significant difference among each treatments under
95% confidence interval.
Table 1. ANOVA table of duration of acceptance phase, the results show there are no
significant difference among groups. (Abbrev: DL = decomposition level
(decay-days), N = data collected, SD = standard deviation, SE = standard error,
CI = confidential interval, LL = lower limit, UL = upper limit)
DL N Mean SD SE 95% CI
LL UL
0 3 10.8867 0.82136 0.47421 8.8463 12.9270
1 8 9.4325 2.31044 0.81686 7.5009 11.3641
2 10 9.0430 2.39716 0.75805 7.3282 10.7578
3 4 9.7075 1.92609 0.96305 6.6427 12.7723
4 2 10.6150 0.75660 0.53500 3.8172 17.4128
5 5 10.5680 1.28741 0.57575 8.9695 12.1665
6 3 10.6100 0.85159 0.49166 8.4945 12.7255
7 4 9.3150 2.51577 1.25789 5.3118 13.3182
8 3 10.0267 1.97257 1.13886 5.1265 14.9268
9 2 10.9600 1.11723 0.79000 0.9221 20.9979
Sum 44 9.8305 1.92059 0.28954 9.2465 10.4144