Abstract: For evaluating the effects of dietary heavy metals on the growth, development and reproduction of the parental generation and first filial generation of flesh fly Boettcherisca peregrine (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), newly oviposited larvae of the fly were exposed to various administered concentrations (200, 400, 800, and 1 600 mg/g)in the artificial diet until pupation under laboratory conditions, and some parameters relative to the growth, development and reproduction of the fly were observed and analyzed. The results indicated that the low dietary Cu²⁺ (200 mg/g) significantly enhanced body weight and body length of B. peregrine but had no obvious effect on its larval duration, pupation ration, pupal duration, eclosion ratio, sex ratio, mating ratio and oviposition number, while higher doses inhibited  development and reproduction. Moreover, with increasing of dietary Cu²⁺ concentration, the body weight of larva, pupa and adult become lighter, the body length of larva and pupa turned shorter, the percentages of pupation, emergence, mating and the fecundity were reduced, the duration of larva and pupa stage was prolonged, and the life span of adult shortened. However, the effect of copper on the sex ratio was not obvious. In contrast, the growth, development and reproduction of B. peregrine in the first filial generation unexposed to Cu²⁺ were almost not markedly affected in spite of the fact that their parental generation had previously been exposed to Cu²⁺. This suggests that effects of dietary copper on the parental generation of B. peregrine will not be transferred to its next generation. In addition, changes in Cu²⁺ contents of B. peregrine during metamorphosis in both the parental generation and the first filial generation were also determined.

Key words: Boettcherisca peregrine, copper, development, reproduction, heavy metal pollution