Studies on Chrysomyia albiceps (Wiedemann) one of the most important carrion flies in Egypt.

Chrysomyia albiceps often feeds to repletion and then regurgitates a portion of the food, a behaviour that heightens its importance as a mechanical vector of enteric pathogens. Pupae of this fly are susceptible to the attack of the parasitic wasp, Nasonia vitripennis in the laboratory as well as in nature at different underground depths where they pupate. The fly needs to feed on proteinaceous meals to start and complete its ovarian development. Liver, beef, camel, chicken, rabbit and fish meat were tested. Of the 6 tested diets, liver proved to be the most advantageous as 98% pupation was obtained, while with beef, camel, chicken, rabbit and fish 95.2%, 95.9%, 90.9%, 89.1% and 86% pupation, respectively, were obtained. Field observations revealed that Chrysomyia albiceps prefers to breed in big carcasses over small ones as the latter contain less moisture or amount of food and are subjected to desiccation and consumption before the full growth of larvae especially during the hot and dry months. Anatomical studies of the females attracted to a piece of meat in laboratory and outdoors experiments showed that the degree of ovarian development is variable including completely undeveloped ovaries, sexually mature ones and different stages of ovarian development. So, attraction to meat fulfill to important functions: nutrition and oviposition. Feeding visits are short in duration (6.2 +/- 2.1 min) and behaviourally simple. The oviposition visits last from 40-60 min with more complex behaviour which can be divided into the time before, during and after oviposition. Females in selecting a place for oviposition, preferred the softer places of the fresh meat; round its lower moist edge where much liquid food is present and where the females oviposit in groups at one location. When a female began to oviposit, it was joined by others that located the eggs with their ovipositors and started to oviposit where a clumped irregular egg masses are deposited.