Impact of Diet and Moisture Content on the Development of Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different diets and moisture levels on the life-history parameters of house flies. The experiments were carried out at the Animal Physiology Research Laboratory of Ondokuz Mays University in 2019. House fly larvae were reared on three diets (wheat bran, fish meal poultry meal) with 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90% moisture levels. The effects on the life-history parameters were compared with multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Our results show significant differences in size, weight, survivorship, and development across the diet types, and moisture content tested. In this study, the larval development period was shortest when the moisture content of the poultry meal diet was 50%. Larvae of Musca domestica Linnaeus, 1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) did not develop on any diets at 90% moisture. The wheat bran diet was superior to the other diets for all parameters tested.