Life history responses to larval food shortages in four species of necrophagous flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

The effects of artificially reduced amounts of larval food on various life history parameters of Lucilia cuprina, Calliphora stygia, C. vicina , and C. hilli were measured to assess the likely reaction of these blowflies to competition in carrion. With increasing food shortage the puparia were reduced by up to 12% of the weight attained under conditions in which food was unlimited. The size of eggs laid by adults which had been subject to food deprivation as larvae was unchanged, but all species showed a reduction in the number of ovarioles. An index of mass‐specific reproductive investment varied considerably between the species, and the relationships between this index and the preferred habitats and dispersal strategies of the species are discussed.