DEVELOPMENT OF Cochliomyia macellaria ON EQUINE AND PORCINE STRIATED MUSCLE TISSUE AND ADULT ATTRACTION TO LARVAL RESOURCE AThesis by STACY ANN BOATRIGHT Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of ENTOMOLOGY August 2009 Major Subject: Entomology DEVELOPMENT OF Cochliomyia macellaria ON EQUINE AND PORCINE STRIATED MUSCLE TISSUE AND ADULT ATTRACTION TO LARVAL RESOURCE A Thesis by STACY ANN BOATRIGHT Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of ENTOMOLOGY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Jeffery K. Tomberlin Committee Members, Tracy Cyr S. Bradleigh Vinson Head of Department, Kevin Heinz August 2009 Major Subject: Entomology iii ABSTRACT Development of Cochliomyia macellaria on Equine and Porcine Striated Muscle Tissue and Adult Attraction to Larval Resource. (August 2009) Stacy Ann Boatright, B.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Jeffery K. Tomberlin Cochliomyia macellaria is commonly utilized in estimating the period of insect activity (PIA) on a corpse due to its rapid colonization time of fresh remains, active oviposition during daylight, and its abundance throughout the southern United States. The primary objective of this study involved C. macellaria reared on either equine or porcine striated muscle tissues at 21°C, 24°C, and 27°C. C. macellaria required approximately 35% more time to complete development when reared at 21°C instead of 27°C. Larval growth and weight gain over time did not differ between larvae reared on equine versus porcine muscle tissue. This study is the second in the United States to examine the development of C. macellaria and is the first to examine development of this species on muscle tissue from different vertebrate species. These data could provide significant information for myiasis and neglect cases of humans and animals. The second study addressed whether or not adult male and female C. macellaria blow flies demonstrated a preference for their larval resource based on olfactory responses in a Y- tube olfactometer. Flies were reared either on beef liver or testicles. Initial and final responses as well as residence time in each arm of the olfactometer over a five minute iv period were recorded. An additional experiment for flies reared on liver assessed adult male and female preference for resources with and without conspecific larvae present. Seven to ten day old blow flies were used in the olfactometer experiments. Only final choice of females reared on liver demonstrated a significant (α = 0.05) attraction for larval resource. All flies reared on beef testicles showed a preference for their larval resource in initial and final choices and residence time. No significant difference was determined for the parameters measured for either sex in response to the presence of conspecific larvae. Data indicate that adult male and female C. macellaria flies are generalists and do not show a preference for their larval resource or for resources inoculated with conspecific larvae. v DEDICATION I wish to dedicate this thesis to my amazing grandparents, Sophie and Bill Pribble, better known as Nana and Poppy. I grew up in your home, and I have always considered you to be my second set of parents. You instilled important morals and life lessons in me that will forever be ingrained into my soul. Without you both in my life, I would not be the ambitious woman that I am today. From my first part in a play as an angel in preschool at St. Matthews to my college graduation from Texas A&M University, you have always been there to support me in everything that I pursue. I love you both and am so grateful for all of your everlasting support Nana, you taught me the importance of treating all others as I would want to be treated. You showed me that presenting myself in a positive and optimistic way will undoubtedly earn the respect of others. Your endless encouragement for me to keep striving to reach my goals has resulted in great accomplishments. Thank you for always being there for me in everything that I do. Words cannot express how fortunate and blessed I am to have had you as such an integral part of my life for all of these years. Poppy, you taught me the importance of honesty and fairness in all aspects of life, no matter the circumstances. You also showed me that ambition and an outstanding work ethic will lead to the greatest of accomplishments. I missed you at my first college graduation, and I will miss you even more as I graduate with my Master’s degree, but I know you have been watching me from heaven throughout my entire journey. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my deepest and sincerest thanks to my committee chairman, Dr. Jeffery Tomberlin, for his unyielding guidance and support throughout this process. I thank him for providing me the wonderful opportunity to be a teaching assistant every semester during graduate school in order to receive funding. It has been an honor and privilege to work in his laboratory for the past two years, and I can never thank him enough for providing me with so many opportunities to give lectures and present my research at national conferences. I honestly could not have asked for a more actively-involved and supportive advisor for graduate school, and I thank Jeff for encouraging and believing in me throughout this entire process. I am certain that he and I will always keep in touch and remain friends for many years, regardless of where my career may take me. I would also like to thank my committee member Dr. Tracy Cyr for her excellent advice, ideas, and support; it was an honor and a privilege working with her. I also extend my thanks to my committee member Dr. Bradleigh Vinson for his helpful ideas and support throughout this process, as his vast knowledge of insect behavior aided me in fully understanding the concepts presented in my secondary objective. I also appreciate the help from everyone in the F.L.I.E.S. laboratory, especially that which came from Micah Flores. I could not have wished for a more hard-working and kind lab partner. His willingness to go out of his way to help me throughout the past two years will forever be appreciated. I am also grateful for all of Micah’s support and vii advice, and I know that my graduate school experience would not have been the same without him. I want to also thank Adrienne Brundage for allowing me to be a teaching assistant for her Forensic Entomology class during my last semester. I am also gracious to Jordan Coburn, as his knowledge of statistics and the SPSS program that I used when analyzing my data was incredible. All of the hours that he took out of his own busy schedule to sit down and help me are much appreciated. I honestly do not know how I could have completed all of my analyses without Jordan’s SPSS tutoring sessions. He saved me an incredible amount of time and made the over all analysis process far less stressful than it would have been otherwise. I also wish to thank Dr. Everett Simmons at Burnet Road Animal Hospital for inspiring me to pursue a higher education in the field of Entomology and for acting as my mentor throughout my time in graduate school. I appreciate his willingness to help me obtain canine tissue used in my experiments, and I am grateful for all of his support and encouragement. I would also like to extend my thanks to Dr. Gayne Fearneyhough at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for donating and screening the equine tissue utilized in my thesis experiments. One of the major highlights of my time in graduate school was teaching labs for Veterinary Entomology; therefore, I wish to thank Dr. Darrell Bay for accepting me as his teaching assistant for all four semesters. This was a great experience because it not only provided my funding for school, but it taught me a great deal about Veterinary Entomology in the process of teaching. viii Most importantly, I would like to acknowledge my amazing family, Chris and Marilyn Kennison and Sophie Pribble, for all of their incredible support and encouragement. My mother inspired me to obtain a higher education and never ceased to believe that I could achieve my goals. I cannot express how much I appreciate her and Chris’s financial support that allowed me the opportunity to earn my Master’s degree. Chris has always treated me as his own daughter and financially supported me throughout my college career, which mean the world to me. I would not have been able to complete graduate school without all of the love and endless support from Nana, Chris, and my mother. I am truly blessed and fortunate to have such an amazing family who has always encouraged me to pursue my dreams and be the successful woman that I will surely become after I graduate. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................