Rearing black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in the laboratory: colonization and life table statistics for Simulium vittatum

A robust colony of S. vittatum Zetterstedt is now in its 3rd year, spanning 24 generations. Survival from egg to adult for all rearings combined has exceeded 95%, with > 256,000 adults produced. Maturation from hatching to 50% adult emergence requires 460 degree-days. Adults are large and hardy; their mean wing lengths and fecundities equal or exceed those of field populations or other laboratory populations under optimal conditions. During the first several generations, a clear trend of selection for mating behavior was observed, with a concomitant selection against oviposition by uninseminated flies. A mean yield of ca. 28,000 embryonated eggs per generation was obtained, and eggs could be stored at 2-3 degree C for up to 2 weeks with no decrease in viability. Flies reared on higher protein diet (34 versus 18% vegetable protein) were significantly larger and more fecund.