The Effects of Temperature and Humidity on the Cheese Skipper, Piophila Casei (L.)

Abstract

The extraordinary resistance of all the developmental stages of Piophila casei (L.) to adverse conditions and their general tenacity to life has been noticed by several authors. Alessandrini (1909) reports the results of the treatment of the larvae with some seventy reagents; Krausse (1909) reports on a similar series of tests, and Simmons (1927) gives details of some rather more carefully controlled experiments together with a general summary of our knowledge of the fly at the time of the publication of his paper. The resistance of the fly in its various stages to conditions usually lethal for insects, suggested that it might prove of interest to examine some of the reactions of the Cheese Skipper to conditions of controlled temperature and humidity such as Buxton (1931 b) and Mellanby (1932,1934) have applied to various other insects. The present paper is the result of this investigation.