 Experimentally placed larvae were unable to attain maturity when grown on rotting grass, decaying pumpkin flesh, decaying lettuce, or cow manure.They did attain maturity when grown on hamburger, dead earthworms, dead crane flies, dead polygrid snails, a dead milkweed caterpillar, a dead slug, and rotting agaric mushrooms.One defining characteristic of "D. anilis" is the males' territorial behavior.