Abstract
Two pig farms, two dairies, and a combined pig and dairy farm in Denmark were sampled weekly from April to December 1997 to determine the distribution and relative abundance of Musca domestica L. pupal parasitoids. Nine parasitoid species were collected in the study, including Spalangia cameroni Perkins, S. nigripes Curtis, S. subpunctata Förster, S. nigra Latrielle, Muscidifurax raptor Girault & Sanders, Nasonia vitripennis (Walker), Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Rondani), Urolepis rufipes (Ashmead), and Phygadeuon fumator Gravenhorst. S. nigra had not previously been recorded as a parasitoid on M. domestica pupae in Denmark. Among the five farms, S. cameroni was the most abundant species collected indoors, whereas M. raptor dominated outdoors in the manure heaps. Maximum activity of parasitoids was observed in late summer, which corresponded well with peaks in temperature and fly density. S. cameroni and M. raptor were active from spring to fall, whereas the other species occurred more sporadic and in lower numbers. The overall rate of parasitism was low, ranging from 5.1 to 13.1% among the farms. Spatial distribution of the three most abundant species at indoor sites revealed that M. raptor primarily searches for fly pupae in the illuminated areas of the stable environment, whereas S. cameroni and S. nigripes were randomly distributed.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.