Medical and Veterinary Entomology (2011) 25, 344–347 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2010.00930.x SHORT COMMUNICATION Megaselia scalaris reared on Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus laboratory cultures E. M I R A N D A - M I R A N D A 1 , R. C O S S I O - B A Y U G A R 1 , F. M A R T I N E Z - I B A ˜ NEZ 2 and C. R. B A U T I S T A - G A R F I A S 1 1 Centro Nacional de Investigaci´ on Disciplinaria en Parasitología Veterinaria, Instituto Nacional de Investigaci´ ones Forestales y Agrícolas y Pecuarías (INIFAP), Jiutepec, Mexico and 2 Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria, Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentaci´ on (SAGARPA), Jiutepec, Mexico Abstract. Different laboratory cultures of the acarine tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1888) (Ixodida: Ixodidae) were infested by small Megaselia scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) flies. Larvae of this species exhibited opportunistic parasitism predominantly on engorged female ticks, causing severe damage to their cuticle through which the flies were able to reach R. microplus internal organs, on which they fed until developing into pupae in the tick’s remains. The flies were kept by continuous propagation on fresh ticks over six generations during which the same parasitoid behaviour was observed. Here we report on an ixodid tick laboratory culture used for rearing M. scalaris. Key words. Megaselia scalaris, cattle tick, parasitoid. The southern cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1888) is a recurrent vector of protozoan blood parasites of the genus Babesia spp. that affect cattle around the world, as well as of the red blood cell bacterium Anaplasma spp., causative agent of the bovine disease anaplasmosis (Cossio-Bayugar et al., 2005). Regular pesticide treatment of R. (B.) microplus -infested cattle is considered a necessity for the development of the cattle industry in tropical and subtropical areas of the world (Nu˜ nez et al., 1985). However, pesticide treatment of tick-infested animals with different acaricide formulations is proving to be ineffective over time because of the natural tendency of the cattle tick to acquire genetic pesticide resistance to almost every commercial acaricide available (De Castro, 1997; Cossio- Bayugar et al., 2009). The search for alternative tick control methods stimulated research into methods of biological control using tick predators that occur naturally in the wild. Several tick-infective microorganisms including bacteria (Adejinmi & Ayinmode, 2008; Miranda-Miranda et al., 2010a), fungi (Van der Geest & Bruin, 2008) and arthropods (Barr´ e et al., 1991; Samish et al., 2004) have been shown to be effective against R. microplus and thus may represent an alternative biological method of control of this tick species. Previously Correspondence: Carlos R. Bautista-Garfias, Centro Nacional de Investigaci´ on Disciplinaria en Parasitología Veterinaria, INIFAP, Apartado Postal 206, CIVAC, Morelos, CP 62550, Mexico. Tel.: +52 777 319 2850 (ext. 120); Fax: +52 777 319 2850 (ext. 129); E-mail: carlmon@mail.com reported tick arthropod predators include the tropical fire ant Solenopsis geminata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (Barr´ e et al., 1991), parasitoid wasps of the genus Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) (Samish et al., 2004) and the ubiquitous phorid scuttle fly Megaselia scalaris (Loew, 1866; Garris, 1983; Andreotti et al., 2003; Miranda-Miranda et al., 2010b). Megaselia scalaris, known for exploiting a variety of environments and ecological niches, has been recorded as a polyphagous fly; it demonstrates saprophagous, sarcophagous and necrophagous behaviour and is an important detritivorous fly species that consumes both animal and plant material (Costa et al., 2007). The necrophagous and sarcophagous habits of M. scalaris confer this phorid fly with veterinary, medical and foren- sic importance because of the capability of its larvae to cause myiasis in exposed wounds and corpses in different species of animal and in humans (Hira et al., 2004; Costa et al., 2007; Wakid, 2008). Megaselia scalaris also exhibits predatory activity on important agricultural pests and medi- cal arthropod pests such as the corn bore beetle Macrodacty- lus murinus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) (Arredondo-Bernal & Trujillo-Arriaga, 1994), the American trypanosomiasis vector Triatoma brasiliensis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) (Costa et al., Medical and Veterinary Entomology  2010 The Royal Entomological Society 344 No claim to original US government works