Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Competition Among Three Forensically Important Blow Fly Species (Diptera: Calliphoridae): Phormia Regina, Lucilia Sericata, And Chrysomya Rufifacies, Amber Macinnis

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The aim of this study was to use interspecific competition between three species of blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to determine if interspecific competition might explain the successional patterns. A replacement series model was used for three species of blowflies: Phormia regina, Lucilia sericata, and Chrysomya rufifacies. A total of 20 maggots were used for each treatment and the proportion of each species was varied. The graphic evidence and the relative crowding coefficient of P. regina versus L. sericata indicated a significant competitive advantage of P. regina. One of the life history traits of L. sericata is that it oviposits on …