DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOPERIODIC CONTROL OF LARVAL BURROWING IN THE BLOWFLY LUCILIA-CUPRINA - A NOVEL INDEX FOR PHOTOPERIODIC RESEARCH

The photoperiodic control of larval burrowing depth in the Australian sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) was investigated by measuring burrowing depth under controlled laboratory photoperiods. The results demonstrated that larvae exposed to long ph otoperiods (LD 18:6) burrowed to deeper depths than those in shorter p hotoperiods (LD 12: 12), and that this behavior was induced during the third instar stage. The ecological significance of this behavior is d iscussed, as are the ways in which daylength is measured and depth ass essed. The use of burrowing depth could prove to be a novel index of a photoperiodic response and provide a far simpler approach to the stud y of photoperiodism in certain insect species.