Communication in necrophagous Diptera larvae: interspecific effect of cues left behind by maggots and implications in their aggregation

Necrophagous Calliphoridae breed in vertebrate carrion. Their larvae aggregate and form large masses of individuals. These aggregated larvae can reach adulthood faster than scattered larvae, increasing their chances of survival. Furthermore, the gathering of larvae of different species suggests possible interspecific aggregation vectors. In this context, the effect of larval ground-left cues on larvae of Calliphora vomitoria and Lucilia sericata was studied. We used video tracking to follow larvae placed in binary choice tests. We observed (1) a preference of both species for a side marked by conspecific or heterospecific larvae compared to an unmarked side, (2) a preference of L. sericata larvae for a conspecific-marked side compared to a heterospecific-marked side but only at high concentration of cues and (3) a preference of both species for the side marked by the greater number of larvae. These results demonstrate that larvae leave a mark locally which is retentive, has an interspecific range, has an effect proportional to its intensity and whose strength varies depending on the emitting species. According to the self-organization theory, this mark could enhance larval gathering and promote interspecific aggregations. While not yet demonstrated, an interspecific Allee effect could explain the interspecific association of necrophagous calliphorid larvae.