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Effects Of Parasitism And Soil Compaction On Pupation Behavior Of The Green Bottle Fly Lucilia Sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Jonathan Cammack

All Theses

Although the pupation behavior of blow flies has been widely studied, my work is the first to examine the effects of parasitoids and soil compaction on pupation behavior. The objectives of my research were to provide insight into a host-parasitoid system involving Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Nasonia vitripennis (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and to develop a predictive model of pupation depth for L. sericata, with respect to soil compaction. Two experiments were conducted examining the effects of parasitoids and soil compaction on the pupation behavior of L. sericata. In all experiments, larvae of L. sericata were introduced to containers …