RELATIONSHIPS AMONG BODY-SIZE, BLOOD MEAL SIZE, EGG VOLUME, AND EGG-PRODUCTION OF TABANUS-FUSCICOSTATUS (DIPTERA, TABANIDAE)

Number of ovarioles, egg production, and weight of unfed and bloodfed Tabanus fuscicostatus Hine females were related linearly to wing lengt h. Wing length did not change whether flies were freshly thawed, prese rved in formalin solution, or oven dried. Left and right wings were si milar in length. The length from the costa to the anterior cross vein or to the intersection of R4 and R5 veins was associated linearly to w ing length. The number of eggs produced by flies bloodfed on one or tw o bovine hosts was similar when adjusted by wing length. The average n umber of ovarioles per female was 277 +/- 50 (+/-SD), and eggs develop ed in only 63% of the ovarioles after a bloodmeal. An estimated 3.1 eg gs were produced for each milligram of blood ingested by a fly, and th e average bloodmeal size was 110% of the unfed weight of the flies (49 .7 mg). Egg volume was unrelated to body size, but was associated inve rsely with the number of eggs produced per female.