A Simple and Effective Laboratory Method of Growing Larvae of Lucilia sericata Using Clean and Moistened Sharp Sand Mixed with Groundnut Powder

Abstract

Maggot is a general name given to larvae of many different insects. Some of these larvae are biotherapeutically used in debridement of infected, necrotic and non-healing wounds. The laboratory growing and management of many different larvae are important to medical units interested in maggot debridement therapy, research centres interested in studying the physiology of a given larvae and forensic entomology units that use linear regression method of determining time of death of a decomposing body. This study aims at developing an accessible and effective method of growing larvae of Lucilia sericata. A piece of putrid beef is hung out in the open to attract flies that deposit eggs which on hatching were able to burrow into  the clean dried silica-based sharp sand mixed with 1:10 groundnut powder in a 20 litre capacity plastic bucket. The bucket has a cover cut out to allow ventilation over a net. A tinge of iodized salt (0.5 gram) is added to help in metamorphosis. The soil was kept moist by 8 hourly sprinkling of water. The larvae counted were 300 and subsequently they were allowed to metamorphose to pupae and adults. The flies hatched were exposed to cold temperature of 10 ^oC for 10 minutes to reduce their activity and were then counted and the species identified. The different species identified may be use in growing a second generation of the desired larvae. Of the 286 units of flies, 10 were Musca domestica specie while 276 were Lucilia sericata specie. This effort has produced a 95% successful hatch that metamorphosed into adult flies. This introduces a reliable alternative of growing larvae in the laboratory.