Ecological analysis of field trials conducted to assess the potential of sex-linked translocation strains for genetic control of the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann).

Field trials were conducted with translocation/eye colour (TE) strains of L. cuprina to measure the mating ability of the males under field conditions and assess their potential for suppressing sheep blowfly populations. Rates of increase in L. cuprina were highest in spring (3.9-9.1 per generation), consistently low during summer (0.1-0.6 per generation) and somewhat higher during autumn (1.1-3.4 per generation). The TE strains released had the potential to prevent population increases of this magnitude. Their failure to do so during these trials resulted from their low mating competitiveness (0.33) relative to that of field-reared males (1.0), inadequacy of the larval release method and the limited capacity of the experimental mass-rearing facility.