Abstract
THE practice of marking and releasing insects for subsequent capture has been widely adopted in ecological investigations. Studies on the Calliphoridae have been prominent in this field, the various workers adopting a wide range of marking techniques. However, if liberated adult specimens are intended to simulate naturally emerging insects added to the wild population, it is desirable to avoid the preliminary period of cage-life which most marking methods involve. The incorporation of radiotracers in the larval medium1 is one method by which pre-release handling of adults can be avoided. A second method has been employed in studies on the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wied.). This involves the emergence of the flies from puparia covered by an inch of fine, dry sand intimately mixed with 0.5 per cent of a fluorescent dust. Flies which have emerged from such a preparation may readily be identified under ultra-violet light because they retain a quantity of the fluorescent dust on the ptilinal suture and frontalia. These areas of the head are beset with minute scales2 which become closely crowded after the ptilinum is retracted, and hold the dust particles between them. The puckering of the frontalia on hardening probably also assists the retention of dust.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Hoffman, R. A., Lindquist, A. W., and Butts, J. S., J. Econ. Ent., 44, 471 (1951).
Strickland, E. H., Canad. J. Zool., 31, 263 (1953).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
NORRIS, K. A Method of marking Calliphoridae (Diptera) during Emergence from the Puparium. Nature 180, 1002 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/1801002a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1801002a0
This article is cited by
-
10.1007/BF00347703
CrossRef Listing of Deleted DOIs (2011)
-
10.1007/BF00338529
CrossRef Listing of Deleted DOIs (2011)
-
10.1007/BF00352580
CrossRef Listing of Deleted DOIs (2011)
-
Estimation of population size and survival of sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina, in the field from serial recoveries of marked flies affected by weather dispersal and age‐dependent trappability
Population Ecology (1991)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.