Oviposition, fecundity, and fertility of the salt marsh deer fly, Chrysops fuliginosus (Diptera: Tabanidae)

A method of obtaining large numbers of fertile eggs of Chrysops fuliginosus Wied. in the laboratory is reported. The number of eggs laid by inseminated and virgin females exceeded 100 during the first ovarian cycle; hatch rates ranged between 73 and 84%. The number of virgin females that oviposited was inversely proportional to the length of time larvae had been held in captivity. Females allowed to feed on 10% sucrose solutions oviposited more readily than did unfed females, but fecundity was unaffected by the addition of sugar supplements. Follicular degeneration, marked by irregular yolk distribution and degenerated follicular epithelium, was observed in 5 unfed females. Two egg-masses, containing 18 and 26 eggs, were found in the salt marsh on the undersides of Spartina alterniflora leaves overhanging drainage ditches.