Open AccessMortality of Blow-Fly Larvae (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in the digestive tract of Vultures
Author(s) -
Leo Braack
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
koedoe
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.419
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 2071-0771
pISSN - 0075-6458
DOI - 10.4102/koedoe.v27i1.545
Subject(s) - carrion , calliphoridae , larva , biology , forensic entomology , maggot , zoology , digestive tract , population , predation , ecology , medicine , demography , sociology
The blow-flies Chrysomyia albiceps and C marginalis are abundant in the Kruger National Park and depend on carrion as a food-source during their larval stages. Vultures occasionally consume maggot-infested meat and the question arises whether such larvae survive passage through the digestive tract and so contribute to the population of blow-flies in that area. Three vultures were fed baboon meat inoculated with blow- fly larvae, and none of the larvae were found to survive