Stability of Field-Selected Resistance to Conventional and Newer Chemistry Insecticides in the House Fly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae).

Abstract

The house fly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), is a pest of livestock and has the ability to develop resistance to different insecticides. We assessed the fluctuations in seasonal stability of house fly resistance to insecticides from poultry facility populations in Pakistan. House fly populations were collected from poultry facilities located at Khanewal, Punjab, Pakistan in three seasons (July, November, and March) to investigate the fluctuations in their resistance to conventional (organophosphate, pyrethroid) and novel chemistry (spinosyn, oxadiazine, neonicotinoid) insecticides. Laboratory bioassays were performed using the feeding method of mixing insecticide concentrations with 20% sugar solutions, and cotton pads dipped in insecticide solutions were provided to tested adult flies. Bioassay results showed that all house fly populations had varying degrees of susceptibility to tested insecticides. Comparisons between populations at different seasons showed a significant fluctuation in susceptibility to organophosphate, pyrethroid, spinosyn, oxadiazine, and neonicotinoid insecticides. Highest resistant levels were found for organophosphate when compared with other tested insecticides. The resistance to conventional insecticides decreased significantly in March compared with July and November, while resistance to oxadiazine and avermectins decreased significantly in November. However, resistance to spinosad and imidacloprid remained stable throughout the seasons. All conventional and novel chemistry insecticides were significantly correlated with each other in all tested seasons except nitenpyram/lambda-cyhalothrin and nitenpyram/imidacloprid. Our data suggests that the variation in house fly resistance among seasons could be due to fitness costs or to the cessation of selection pressure in the off-season. These results have significant implications for the use of insecticides in house fly management.