Authors: Stoffolano, John G.; Acaron, Awilda; Conway, Mirela

Source: Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 101, Number 5, September 2008 , pp. 964-970(7)

Publisher: Entomological Society of America

Abstract:

Bubbling behavior or regurgitation is defined as the production of a droplet on the tip of the proboscis. No behavioral differences were observed in the components of the bubbling behavior between the two sexes of adult Phormia regina Meigen (Diptera: Calliphoridae). One of the most interesting behaviors, from a functional standpoint, is the proboscis shaking and proboscis pumping that is always associated with droplet extrusion. Droplets were usually reingested and not dropped on the substrate as reported in some fly species. On a sucrose meal, the average total time the fly spent on bubbling, regardless of sex, was 9.4 min, whereas the average time the droplet was present on the proboscis was 7 min. The number of droplets produced per fly for both sexes was 19.8 for sucrose and 24.6 for liver. The average time to initiate droplet extrusion after a meal by both sexes was 69 min for sucrose and 102 min for the liver meal. Bubbling flies had a statistically significant greater crop volume (7.9 μl on liver and 6.2 μl on sucrose) than nonbubbling flies (4.1 μl on liver and 2.3 μl on sucrose). The latter results place the important functional significance of bubbling or regurgitation on crop volume and the need of flies to eliminate crop water load, thus concentrating crop solute.

Keywords: insect crop; bubbling; droplet production; regurgitation; blow fly

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2008-09-01

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• Annals of the Entomological Society of America is published in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Annals especially invites submission of manuscripts that integrate different areas of insect biology, and address issues that are likely to be of broad relevance to entomologists. Articles also report on basic aspects of the biology of arthropods, divided into categories by subject matter: systematics; ecology and population biology; arthropod biology; arthropods in relation to plant diseases; conservation biology and biodiversity; physiology, biochemistry, and toxicology; morphology, histology, and fine structure; genetics; and behavior.
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