A novel low‐cost effective trap to capture sarcosaprophagous Diptera alive

Abstract

1. Carrion flies are trapped to study their succession pattern and record their diversity or establish laboratory colonies for various purposes. They are typically collected manually, which is not only challenging and time-consuming, but may also result in incomplete or biased inventories. Passive trapping techniques commonly used damage the specimens and make them difficult to identify.2. We describe the construction of a trap to capture sarcosaprophagous Diptera alive.We tested six traps using six rabbit carcasses (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) per trial over 1 year and recorded the diversity and succession of insects. We also established fly colonies of Lucilia sericata (Meigen) adults using captured individuals.3. A total of 27,428 insects (i.e., 8669 specimens in spring, 7969 specimens in summer, 8417 specimens in autumn and 2373 specimens in winter) belonging to 21 families and 43 species were collected over a period of 23, 19, 24 and 30 days in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. The catch consisted mainly of the order Diptera (98.55%), but also Hymenoptera (1.45%). We successfully started a fly colony with 107 individuals in spring and added wild-type adults every season.The colonies were maintained for 1 year, during which the lifespan of the adult flies varied between 5 and 52 days.4. The device is easy to manufacture, low-cost, robust under field conditions, efficient and time-saving. It enables large samples to be collected within a short period of time over the entire trial period without affecting its condition or performance.