The Family Tachinidae is one of the most speciose families in the Order Diptera with approximately 1300 species occurring in North America alone. Research on the species Ormia ochracea (Bigot) (Diptera: Tachinidae) has largely focused on the problems incurred by their hosts as a result of parasitism or on the mechanics of their hearing. Little research effort has been devoted to the behavior or life history of these flies. Part of the reason they have remained lightly researched is the difficultly in maintaining a laboratory culture. Herein, we provide a detailed guide to collecting O. ochracea in the field, culturing them in the laboratory, and maintaining stock populations for multiple generations. We also provide data on the effectiveness of capturing O. ochracea in wooded versus open field areas, as well as data on the effectiveness of manually parasitizing crickets with O. ochracea larvae to propagate stock fly populations in the laboratory. Our results suggest that during field collection, traps should broadcast calls in wooded areas; and that manual parasitization is an effective way of culturing small colonies of O. ochracea in the laboratory.
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1 January 2010
Collection and Laboratory Culture of Ormia ochracea (Diptera: Tachinidae)
Crystal M. Vincent,
Susan M. Bertram
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acoustic trapping
culturing insects
Ormia ochracea
parasite