Biology of A California Rodent Bot Fly Cuterebra Latifrons Coquillett (Diptera: Cuterebridae)12

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Abstract
The behavior of Cuterebra Latifrons adults was observed at hilltop aggregation sites in Marin County, California, from June through October with peak periods in late August. Male flies were active only in the morning and were spaced by their territorial behavior. Resighting of marked male fliles indicated that they remained on the hilltops for their lifetime of 10–12 days. Female flies made up 5% of the population, staying at these sites only long enough to mate. Virgin flies did not move to hilltops until they were 5 days old and ready to oviposit. The average fecundity of each female was 1,300 eggs laid in groups of about 7 per site. Oviposition sites were located at woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes) houses, and eggs appeared to survive winter environments. Eggs developed in 1–2 weeks depending on temperature, and infective larvae remained inside the chorion until stimulated to hatch by a slight, Sudden increase in temperature. Seasonal peaks in numbers of infected woodrats appear related to host activities. Infective larvae entered moist natural openings or abraded skin and appeared at dermal developmental sites 6–8 days after infection. First stage larvae cut the warble pores and molted in the ventral cervical region of the host. The larva, inside a warble cyst, molted again about the 19th day and remained in the host 28–38 days. Mature larvae pupated in 12–24 hrs in damp soil and the pupual period lasted from 28 to 178 days depending on temperature and season of the year. Both sexes required equal time in the pupal stage. Adults emerged in the morning and were reluctant to fly on the day of emergence. In the San Francisco Bay area, C. latifrons is probably bivoltine.