Equipment for transporting live black fly larvae (Diptera: Simuliiae)

In studies relating to the biology and ecology of black flies, live larvae of at least 70 species of Simuliidae have been collected from their natural breeding sites and transported in containers with nonagitated water for short distances to the laboratory. One of us (Tarshis 1966) found, however, that even small numbers of simuliid larvae cannot survive in containers with nonagitated water for more than 6 hr. Additionally, when massive numbers of larvae are introduced into transport containers in which the water is not agitated, the larvae perish because they become entangled within the masses of silken threads they emit whenever disturbed (Tarshis and Neil 1970). Therefore, when transporting larvae long distances or when transporting large numbers of larvae any distance, it is essential to agitate the water in the transport containers.