Sarcosaprophagous flies in Suez province, Egypt. seasonal distribution and sex-ratio

ABSTRACT

Seasonal field studies on four bait traps [fish, bovine-lung, grapes and molasses] were conducted in El-Arbaeen Fish Market, El-Arbaeen District, Suez Governorate, Egypt in 1999 and 2000 to describe the pattern and sex ratio of sarcosaprophagous flies. The presence of sarcosaprophagous flies [Calliphoridae, Muscidae and Sarcophagidae] revealed that Chrysomya megacephala [Fabricius], Lucilia cuprina [Wiedemann] and Musca domestica [Linnaeus] were the most dominant flies. Almost equal number of male and female flies of C. megacephala, L. cuprina and M. domestica trapped on baits of grapes and molasses representing real proportion of male and female population of these flies. The number of female flies recorded on fish and bovine-lung baits was significantly higher than those recorded on grapes and molasses. As row fish and bovine-lung are important breeding media for flies, they may have attracted a larger number of female flies for ovary maturation and oviposition