Lifetime reproductive output of Calliphora vicina and Lucilia sericata in outdoor caged and field populations; flight vs. egg production?

Abstract Females of the blowflies Calliphora vicina (Robineau‐Desvoidy) and Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) maintained in sheltered outdoor cages and supplied with excess food, oviposited later than would have been expected from the temperature‐sum. The survival rates of the caged flies was high and the isolation of flies from predation, extreme temperatures and food shortages is likely to have contributed to this. Despite good survival rates, subsequent egg production over the greater part of the adult life span was reduced to ∼24% for C. vicina and ∼55% for L. sericata, of the potential expected from the published temperature‐sums required for the maturation of successive egg batches. The data suggest that under field‐cage conditions there is a considerable variation in egg development between individuals of the same age and that this variation should not be overlooked, since it may have significant implications in ecological and forensic investigations; however, the cause of this variability remains unclear. While lower than expected, the reproductive outputs recorded in the cages were nevertheless considerably greater than those that have been estimated for blowflies in the field and illustrate the potential for population increase in these species under favourable conditions. The possibility of a greater energy investment in flight activity relative to reproductive output in C. vicina compared to L. sericata is proposed.