Chapter 258 - Tsetse Fly

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the Tsetse fly that belongs to genus Glossina, in the family Glossinidae of the order Diptera. They are found only in sub-Saharan Africa, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, infesting 38 countries. There is a close correspondence between ecological niches of common hosts and tsetse habitats, and overlapping habitats are important in determining feeding patterns, in addition to behavioral characteristics of the host. Tsetse will change to alternate hosts if their usual host(s) becomes unavailable. Within the genus, 31 species and subspecies of tsetse have been identified. Fossil Glossina, found in Florissant shales in Colorado, date back to the Oligocene, indicating a wider original distribution. The genus is split into three subgenera or groups: Austenina ( fusca group), Nemorhina ( palpalis group), and Glossina ( morsitans group). The forest-dwelling fusca groups are the most primitive. As cyclical vectors of protozoan parasites of the genus Trypanosoma, they are of major economic and biological importance. Trypanosomosis (sleeping sickness in humans) is a major constraint to livestock production and is a threat to millions of people in Africa.