Mortality of Lucilia sericata (Meigan) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) eggs after submergence.

Lucilia sericata is a very important species both forensically and medically. It was observed that this species was often found on dry bodies, so it was predicted that it may not be able to tolerate small amounts water. Lucilia sericata eggs were reared and submerged in 10 ml of distilled water for varying amounts of time. The treatments consisted of one, three, five, seven, and ten minutes of submergence. The percentage of eggs hatched ranged from 47.34% to 52.17%. An ANOVA test showed that there was no significance between the percentage of eggs hatched of the treatments and the control (p > 0.05). Due to no significant difference being observed between any of the treatments, it was concluded that the water did not have a negative effect on the hatching of the eggs. Further experimentation could determine if the water could increase the percentage of eggs that were hatched.