MERIDIC DIETS FOR ADULT SCREWWORM (DIPTERA, CALLIPHORIDAE)

Adults of the screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), were fed three carrageenan-gelled meridic diets. In test one, the flies were fed a diet of sucrose and whole dry powdered chicken egg (2:1) and compared with those fed similar formulations containing the sucrose/egg plus nonfat dry powdered milk (2:1:1) or sucrose/egg/milk plus whole bovine blood (2:1:1:2). Body weight, mortality and egg hatch were not significantly (P = 0.05) different among the adults. In a second test the mortality and egg hatch were not significantly different between adults fed the sucrose/egg/milk diet gelled with carrageenan or a synthetic copolymer gel. However, significantly greater egg weights were collected from females fed the formulation containing the copolymer gel. In a third test where the copolymer gel was completely or partially replaced in the diet with an inert, water-absorbent material, egg hatch and mortality were not significantly different among the adults. Egg weights were similar for adults feeding on diet containing the full complement of copolymer gel and those fed diet in which the gel was completely replaced with the inert material. These gelled diets are nutritional and economical and have both small scale and mass production application.