Water immersion tolerance by larval instars of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, L1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) impairs the fitness performance of their subsequent stages.

This study provides a comparative overview of the fitness consequences associated with water immersion stress during S. calcitrans larval ontogeny. The results prove that the fitness shift induced by water immersion in S. calcitrans is stage-specific. My results illustrate the importance of considering each larval instar when assessing the impact of environmental factors on holometabolous insect performance as these may be decoupled by metamorphosis.