BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
23 June 2020 Validation of Acrylic Paint as a Marking Technique for Examining Mating Success of the Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)
Brittny M. Jones, Jeffery K. Tomberlin
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), is mass produced worldwide for use in waste management and the production of an alternative protein for use as feed. However, few publications have explored its adult behavior, particularly mating, as a means to optimize egg production in colony. In addition, there is limited knowledge of appropriate marking techniques to explore the mating behavior of this insect.The goal of this study was to validate water-based acrylic paint pens as a possible marking tool for behavioral studies with adult black soldier flies. Adult black soldier flies (<24-h old) were marked with green, gold, red, or white acrylic paint. Adult longevity, as well as the number of matings (mating success) were recorded for each treatment. Regardless of marking, 1) adult females lived ∼7 d, whereas males lived 9 d, 2) mating frequency peaked 2 d after initiation of the experiment, 3) approximately 30% of adults across treatments were recorded mating, and 4) egg production and hatch rate were not affected.This marking technique did not affect the parameters measured, suggesting that it is suitable for experiments requiring a reliable marking technique.

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Brittny M. Jones and Jeffery K. Tomberlin "Validation of Acrylic Paint as a Marking Technique for Examining Mating Success of the Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)," Journal of Economic Entomology 113(5), 2128-2133, (23 June 2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toaa129
Received: 27 November 2019; Accepted: 25 May 2020; Published: 23 June 2020
JOURNAL ARTICLE
6 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Hermetia illucens
insect marking
lekking behavior
mate choice
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top