Feeding and breeding aspects of Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart, 1839) (Diptera, Hippoboscidae) under laboratory conditions.

This study was aimed at making the bionomic aspects of Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart 1839) clear and at providing ways for keeping this diptera under laboratory conditions. A hundred and seventy-four flies were collected, of which 30% did not show hematophagy under laboratory conditions. The others were split into two groups with feeding intervals of 24 and 48 h. The individuals fed within a 24-h interval were found to live longer than the ones fed within a 48-h interval and blood meal time was decreased as feeding interval was increased. In the 48-h-feeding-interval group, females were found to live longer than the males, what could not be shown for the 24-h-feeding-interval group. Copulation was not observed in vitro, even after exposure to pigeon feathers and scraped skin. Data from this study suggest that daily feeding makes it possible to keep P. canariensis under laboratory conditions for a period of time longer than the one found for the 48-h feeding interval.