31 



samples would have been much more satisfactory since each treatment area 

 was 45.7 m in length. Overall limiting factors were drying facilities, 

 driving distance to the tilling site, and labor. 

 Ovhyva aenesoens Basic Biology Studies 



Larval diet and adult longevity studies. Four preliminary studies 

 were used to develop larval and adult diets for 0. aenescens. The 

 ingredients in the two larval diets are shown in Table 4, and the diet 

 combinations for larvae and adults are summarized in Table 5. Since 

 these were only preliminary studies and the resulting fly numbers were 

 relatively large (> 30) , there were no treatment replications. 



Pans containing the experimental larval diets were seeded with 500 

 and 1000 eggs. Eggs were covered loosely with approximately 2 to 3 cm 

 of medium to simulate oviposition. Pans were covered with fine nylon 

 screen and placed in the growth chamber (29.4 C) . 



After 10 days, pupae were separated from the media by flotation, 

 dried, and placed in standard colony cages. Each cage contained one of 

 the adult diets shown in Table 5, and a water source with polyfoam chips 

 on the surface to reduce drowning mortality. Cages of adults were kept 

 in the walk-in growth chamber (26.7 C) . 



Adults were allowed to emerge for 24 hr, after which the remaining 

 pupae were removed from the cages. Beginning 24 hr later, dead flies 

 were removed from the cages on a daily basis and daily mortality records 

 were kept by sex until all the flies in each cage were dead. 



Resul ts . The results of the four 0. aenesoens adult longevity 

 studies plus the average adult life span and length of the life cycle 

 in each study are shown in Table 6. Raw data are shown in Appendix 1. 

 Fortification of the larval diet did not shorten the 12- to 14-day 



