The mass rearing of the screwworm fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae), for programs that integrate the Sterile Insect Technique in the Americas is part of one of the largest insect mass rearing programs in the world. Most of the cost and labor required in mass rearing systems is related to the larval diet, what enhances the relevance of the constant development of novel diets taking into account their effectiveness, cost and practicability. In this research, two bioassays with alternative diets made using local products were performed in order to evaluate the feasibility and efficiency of these diets for screwworm rearing in Brazil. Two liquid diets (having sugarcane bagasse or coconut fiber as bulking agents), a meat diet, and a gelled diet were tested. The biological parameters evaluated (larval weight, larval viability, pupal weight, adult emergence, and sex ratio) were satisfactory according to mass rearing standards and the diets did not differ statistically (P > 0.05). Due to its higher number of advantages, as high larval viability and lower cost, the gelled diet developed is recommended for screwworm larvae rearing in Brazil.444672677Baumhover, A.H., Husman, C.N., Graham, A.J., Screwworms (1966) Insect colonization and mass production, pp. 533-554. , In: SMITH, C.N. (Ed.)., New York: Academic PressBrown, H.E., Snow, J.W., Screwworms (Diptera: Calliphoridae): A new liquid media for rearing screwworm larvae (1979) Journal of Medical Entomology, 16, pp. 29-32. , http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/esa/jme/1979/00000016/00000001/art00004?crawler=true, Lanham,. Disponível em:. 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Acesso em: 18 jan. 2013Chaudhury, M.F., Alvarez, L.A., Velazquez, L.L., Recycled paper products as substitutes for gelling agent in screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larval diet (2002) Journal of Economic Entomology, 95, pp. 1337-1341. , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12539852, College Park,. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 18 jan. 2013Chaudhury, M.F., Skoda, S.R., Diet pH, and viscosity affect development and survival of screwworm larvae (Diptera: Calliphoridae) (2009) Journal of Economic Entomology, 102, pp. 799-803. , http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=231435, College Park. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013Chaudhury, M.F., Skoda, S.R., Sagel, A., Solidifying agent and processing of blood used for the larval diet affect screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae) life-history parameters (2011) Journal of Economic Entomology, 103, pp. 1103-1107. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/EC10375, College Park,. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013Graham, A.J., Dudley, F.H., Culture methods for mass rearing of screw-worm larvae (1959) Journal of Economic Entomology, 52, pp. 1006-1008. , http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/esa/jee/1959/00000052/00000005/art00064, College Park,. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013Gingrich, R.E., Graham, A.J., Hightower, B.G., Media containing liquefied nutrients for mass rearing larvae of the screwworm (1971) Journal of Economic Entomology, 64, pp. 678-683. , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5558276, College Park,. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013Harris, R.L., Peterson, R.D., Vasquez, G.M.E., Graham, O.H., Gelled media for the production screwworm larvae (1984) Southwestern Entomologist, 9, pp. 257-262. , http://sswe.tamu.edu/articles/PDF/SWE_V14_N1_P067-70.pdf, Dallas,. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013Harris, R.L., Gersabeck, E.F., Corso, C., Graham, O.H., Screwworm larval production on gelled media (1985) Southwestern Entomologist, 10, pp. 253-256. , http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search/display.do?f=1986%2FUS%2FUS86221.xml%3BUS8637294, Dallas,. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013Mastrangelo, T., Chaudhury, M.F., Skoda, S.R., Welch, J.B., Sagel, A., Walder, J.M.M., Feasibility of using a Caribbean Screwworm for SIT Campaigns in Brazil (2012) Journal of Medical Entomology, 49, pp. 1495-1501. , http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1603/ME11273, Lanham,. Acesso em: 01 jan. 2013Melvin, R., Bushland, R.C., A method of rearing Cochliomyia americana C. and P. on artificial media (1936) Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, , http://books.google.com.br/books/about/A_Method_of_Rearing_Cochliomyia_American.html?id=mVNnMwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y, Washington, DC: USDA, (Report ET-88). 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Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013(2003) SAS Version 9. 1, , STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM., Cary, NC: SAS Institute IncTaylor, D.B., Comparison of two gelling agents for screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larval diet (1988) Journal of Economic Entomology, 81, pp. 1414-1419. , http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1217&context=entomologyfacpub, College Park,. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013Taylor, D.B., Bruce, J.C., Garcia, R., Gelled diet for screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae) mass production (1991) Journal of Economic Entomology, 84, pp. 927-935. , http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1215&context=entomologyfacpub, College Park,. Disponível em:. 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Disponível em, Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013Vreysen, M.J.B., Gerardo-Abaya, J., Cayol, J.P., Lessons from area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes with an SIT component: An FAO/IAEA perspective (2007) Area-wide control of insect pests: From research to field implementation, pp. 723-744. , http://www.academia.edu/2922739/AREAWIDE_INTEGRATED_PEST_MANAGEMENT_AND_THE_STERILE_INSECT_TECHNIQUE, In: VREYSEN, M.J.B.ROBINSON, A.S.HENDRICHS, J. (Org.)., Dordrecht: Springer,. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2013