Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2011) 139, 35-46

Anders Aak, Tone Birkemoe and Hans P. Leinaas (2011)
Phenology and life history of the blowfly Calliphora vicina in stockfish production areas
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 139 (1), 35-46
Abstract: Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae) causes yearly losses of 1-2 million Euros to the stockfish industry in Lofoten, Norway. To develop an efficient management program, knowledge of its life cycle and phenology in production areas is needed. Cohort studies in a simulated Lofoten climate showed that field abundance peaks of adults in early spring and midsummer can be explained by a cohort originating from stockfish and its subsequent generations. Laboratory simulations with normal, increased, and decreased Lofoten temperatures indicate that C. vicina overwinter as a mix of larvae, pupae, and adults, and a temperature change of ± 2 °C significantly influences reproductive timing, reproductive output, and female mortality. Flies originating from stockfish reproduced during the first summer when temperatures were increased 2 °C above normal. At lower temperatures, the reproductive investment was low or absent during the first summer and the adult flies entered the winter in a diapausing state. Most offspring produced during the first summer and autumn developed continuously without maternally induced diapause, pupated during the winter, and hatched in the early spring to co-occur with their parent generation during stockfish production. Calliphora vicina showed flexibility in reproductive efforts and overwintering strategies. The high proportion of adults overwintering compared with the commonly used larval diapause strategy might be interpreted as an adaptation to exploit the stockfish resource. The majority of female C. vicina that cause damage to stockfish likely developed on fish dried the previous year, and a continuous year-long trapping is recommended to decimate the population.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Tone Birkemoe

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Calliphora vicina	Stored animal products	Norway