During its larval stage, Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a facultative predator on other blowflies. In this study, we evaluated the predation by third instar larvae of C. albiceps on first, second and third instar larvae of Chrysomya megacephala and Cochliomyia macellaria in no-choice experiments in order to compare the vulnerability of larval instars to predation. With first and second instar prey the highest predation rate by C. albiceps was on C. megacephala. For third instar prey, the highest predation rate was on C. macellaria. With second instar prey, there was complete predation on C. megacephala within 90 min, whereas in C. macellaria only 55% of the larvae were eaten by 90 min. For third instar prey most predation on C. macellaria (80%) occurred within 90 min, whereas in C. megacephala only 35% of the larvae were eaten by 90 min. Chrysomya albiceps changes the predatory behavior on its preys depending on which instar and species it will consume.
Chrysomya albiceps; blowflies; larval predation; optimal foraging
