Utilization of Phaenicia sericata Meig. (Green Blow Fly) as an Alternative Pollinator to Honey Bee

Abstract

Colony collapse disorder of the honey bee has been a serious problem throughout the world and farmers often face the insufficient supply of colonies. The shortages of bees have increased the cost to farmers renting them and resulted in a significant decrease in agricultural production. As an alternative pollinator to the honey bee for greenhouse crops, we investigated the practical utility of Phaenicia sericata Meig. (green brow fly), which is propagated artificially for medical maggot therapy. The efficiency of pollination was evaluated by applying a certain number of fly pupae to flowering strawberries, tomatoes, eggplants, and melons. For tomatoes, eggplants and melons, no significant increase of fruit set or in the number of seeds was noted in open pollinated fruit compared to flowers bagged with fine nets to prevent the visiting of flies or other insects. On the contrary, flies frequently visited strawberry flowers just after emergence from pupae and the rate of mis-shapen fruits decreased significantly compared to the fruits developing from flowers before emergence. Pollination efficiency was insufficient in some cultivars, when 400 pupae were applied in a 90-m(2) plastic house. However, the efficiency was comparable to the honey bee when 1,000 pupae were applied in the plastic house.