Capture Of Flies Research Articles

Effect of Bait Decomposition Time on Capture of Anastrepha Fruit Flies

Effect of Bait Decomposition Time on Capture of Anastrepha Fruit Flies

Generation of airborne fly body particles by four electrocution fly traps and an electronic fly trap

Five commercially available fly traps were tested with laboratory reared house flies in a chamber for 15 minutes, to determine the sizes and number of respirable particles generated during the course of fly capture. Four of the five traps electrocuted the flies, while one trap captured the flies on a sticky pad after disorienting them with a periodic low d.c. voltage. The electrocution resulted in a respirable particle count level increasing 10 to 500 times over the background (flies with no trap), while the non‐electrocution technique resulted in particle count levels near or below the mean background level. For three of the four electrocution traps, a simple linear regression model indicated that particle counts increased with an increasing number of flies killed. Statistically significant correlation between particle counts and fly kills could not be obtained for the other two traps.

Quantifying Apple Maggot (Diptera: Tephritidae) Preference for Apples to Optimize the Distribution of Traps Among Trees

Environ. Entomol. 20(4): 981-987 (1991) ABSTRACT The spatial and temporal distribution pattern of apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), fly captures was monitored among trees within an unmanaged apple orchard. Each tree within the orchard was monitored weekly for the presence of flies using sticky traps. Fruit maturity was monitored weekly to determine percentage soluble solids. Significantly more apple maggot were captured on trees with mature fruit than on trees with immature fruit. A selective predation model was used to quantify the effect of fruit preference on apple maggot captures. Two hypotheses were evaluated. The first hypothesis was that fly capture among trees is a function of the relative sequence or phenology of fruit maturation (tree category hypothesis). The second hypothesis was that fly capture among trees is a function of apple maturity among trees, r6gardless of the phenology of fruit maturation (fruit maturity hypothesis). Both models explained the distribution of fly capture among trees early in the growing season, but the fruit maturity hypothesis best explained the entire season. The use of the model for predicting the distribution pattern of apple maggot captures and the optimum placement of traps for apple maggot detection are discussed.

A survey of three main tephritids and their hosts in Mauritius and some studies on their control with attractive chemical traps

At present there are nine species of tephritid fruit flies in Mauritius and together they plague a wide range of hosts, from wild guavas to cultivated fruits and vegetables. The most destructive among them are: the natal fruit fly, Pterandrus rosa Karsh; the medfly Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann and the melon fruit fly Dacus Cucurbitae Coquillet. Studies with parapheromones indicate that trap colour has little if any effect on the efficiency of fly capture, the olfactory component completely dominating any visual effect. The efficiency of the traps with respect to height varies from species to species and with the vegetation. A height of 120 to 180 cm from the ground was found to be optimal for the natal fruit fly in wild guava zones. Traps placed at ground level on creeping plants were found to capture the highest number of the melon fruit fly. The response of the medfly in fruit tree orchards with height of traps was erratic, showing inconsistent trends with more than one peak.

Longevity of Apple Maggot (Diptera: Tephritidae) Lures Under Laboratory and Field Conditions in Utah

The longevities of five commercial lures and one experimental lure for apple maggot were determined in laboratory and field tests in Utah. The Pherocon AM panel exhibited a reduced fly capture efficiency when aged for 9 d before use, which correlated well with the 5-d longevity observed in laboratory tests. The apple volatile lures made by Consep Membranes and Great Lakes IPM lasted at least 40 d in laboratory and field tests. However, the Ladd Industries rubber septum was found to last only about 4 d in the same tests. The implications of lure longevity on the present confusion over trap choice for monitoring apple maggot are discussed.

Laboratory and Field Experiments to Improve Enzymatic Casein Hydrolysate as an Arrestant and Attractant for Caribbean Fruit Fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Enzymatic casein hydrolysate (CH) combined with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide or ammonium hydroxide and gelled in agar arrested more Anastrepha suspensa (Loew) females than gels of CH alone; males arrested in greater numbers on gels of CH combined with sodium hydroxide than on gels of CH alone. Significantly more males and females were captured in small glass traps baited with an aqueous solution of CH combined with sodium hydroxide than in traps baited with an aqueous solution of CH in laboratory tests. In preliminary field tests, capture of male and female flies in glass Mc Phail traps baited with an aqueous solution of CH was not significantly increased by the addition of sodium hydroxide.

Estimating numbers and survival of house flies (Diptera: Muscidae) with mark/recapture methods.

Two applications of the Jolly–Seber model were used to estimate numbers and survival of house flies, Musca domestica L. The multi sample, single-recapture census, using reared, marked flies and capture by baited jug-traps, was used to estimate numbers of adult house flies in a two-story, high-rise, caged-layer poultry house. Density estimates ranged from 1.2 to 11.5 flies per m2 and had coefficients of variation of 0.12–0.52. Daily survival rates (proportion of population which did not die or emigrate during the interval between samples) were 0.19–0.66 per day. The multisample, multirecapture census, using marked native flies and capture by netting, was used to estimate numbers and survival of house flies in a screen-sided, narrow caged-layer poultry house. Estimated fly densities ranged from 24.8 to 1,159.6 flies per m2 with coefficients of variation of 0.03–0.48. Daily survival rates were 0.54–0.99 per day. Survival rates in both studies declined with increasing mean daily temperature (°C)and on average were 0.32 lower in the high-rise house due to effects of dispersal and predation. House fly survival was not affected by marking with oil-soluble dyes, and capture of house flies using the baited jug-trap was not influenced by age, sex, or marked status of the flies. Assumptions in both census methods are discussed and shown to be met under conditions of these experiments.

Effects of Weather on Capture of Stable Flies (Diptera: Muscidae) by Alsynite Fiber Glass Traps 1

Clear fiber glass panels have been extensively used for constructing traps for stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.). Numbers of stable flies trapped on clear Alsynite fiber glass panels, covered with plastic film and adhesive, during 1-h periods at cattle feedlots, were related to concurrent measurements of air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, and wind speed. Temperature appeared to have greater effect on the trap collections than other weather variables, with maximum responses occurring between 25 and 31°C. Increasing radiation and increasing relative humidity both increased trap collections. Wind speed had no detectable effect. The differing effect of radiation on trap collections and on feeding activity of stable flies may account for previously noted differences between trap counts and counts of feeding flies for estimating population size.

Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae): Distance/Response Curves to Trimedlure to Measure Trapping Efficiency

The probability of capture of male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), by trimedlure in a trap is described by an exponential curve derived with a good fit from 22 replications at each of six different distances. Not all males are responsive on any one day. There is a high probability of capture of nearby males which decreases rapidly to only a few percent at 240 m (800 ft).

Changes in Attractancy and Chemical Composition of the Screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Chemical Attractant, Swormlure-2, under Field Conditions1

Swormlure-2 (SL-2), the chemical attractant of the adult Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), was 17 to 56% more attractive during about the first 5 days of field exposure than SL-2 exposed only 1 or 2 days (considered fresh). Attractancy of SL-2 declined steadily after 5 days of exposure; after about 11 days, it was half as attractive as fresh SL-2. Sex ratios were not affected by changes in attractancy. An average of 40.5% of the SL-2 evaporated during about the first 5 days of exposure. Group I chemicals (iso-butanol, sec-butanol, dimethyl disulfide, acetic acid and butyric acid) exhibited high and then rapidly declining rates of evaporation as exposure time increased. Group II chemicals (phenol, valeric acid, p-cresol, benzoic acid, and indole) exhibited low but relatively constant rates of evaporation; they comprised a larger, and eventually the greatest, proportion (52.7%) of the SL-2 vapor as exposure time increased. Fly capture rates (attractancy) and group I dosage were positively correlated, but fly capture rates and group II dosage were not. Loss of attractancy, however, may have resulted from the increased proportion of group II in SL-2 vapor. Loss of attractancy, therefore, appeared to result from changes in composition, but not decreases in dosage of SL-2 vapor. Temperature and wind were the main weather-related factors affecting evaporation.

Relationships Between Patterns of Face Fly Capture and Pasture Topography, Vegetation, and Cattle Movements

Sticky, white pyramid traps set at 20 to 23 sites in each of four Maryland cattle pastures were used to monitor dispersal and dispersion of face flies, Musca autumnalis De Geer. The greatest number of flies of both sexes were caught in valleys near water and cattle resting sites. However, the largest number of males was caught near intersecting forest borders. whereas the largest number of females was caught near scattered trees. Fly dispersal routes appeared to be along valleys. particularly those which had a stream and trees. Face fly trap sites are described and ranked on the basis of ecological factors.

Species composition and cyclical changes in numbers of savanna blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) caught by suction traps in the Onchocerciasis Control Programme area of West Africa

AbstractTen large suction traps were operated continuously, day and night, throughout the wet season of 1977 at four widely separated places within the area of the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in the Volta River Basin (OCP) in West Africa. At least ten species ofSimuliums.l. were trapped and the daily catches were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. In the total catch of 9189 flies there were 187 males and 9002 females; among the latter only six were gravid and only five contained a full blood-meal. Cyclical changes in numbers, with periodicities ranging from 10 to 20 days, were analysed in series of overlapping Gaussian distributions, each possibly reflecting the rise and fall of a distinct population. Similar patterns in the sequence of cycles were shown byS. adersiPomeroy,S. ruficorneMacq.,S. evillenseFain, Hallot & Bafort and other species at a particular trapping site. Patterns differed between catching sites, except in the general tendency for population maxima to increase during the season. In some species, notablyS. adersi, populations decreased in late July and early August before increasing greatly in September (end of the rains) prior to the October onset of the dry season. Among the species caught,S. evillensewas present at all four trapping sites and particularly abundant at two of them, although the species has never been recorded before in West Africa and its early stages remain undiscovered there despite special searches for them since the capture of adult flies. By contrast, only four specimens ofS. hargreavesiGibbins were trapped although this species is abundant in local breeding sites. Diel flight periodicity was recorded over a one-week period at the extreme end of the wet season and showed that most flies were caught in the daytime;S. ruficorneshowed a greater tendency to a unimodal periodicity than other species. The behaviour of flies at the time of capture is discussed, including a consideration of the local wind speeds and the air speed ofSimuliums.l.

Ecological studies and laboratory rearing of the tsetse species Glossina longipennis Corti in Kenya

Observations were made on the tsetse species Glossina longipennis Corti in Nkruman escarpment, Kenya. The species inhabited relatively open areas of the bushland. The rate of infection with trypanosomes was studied as well as the activity pattern and amenability to trapping. Results of laboratory rearing are given. Trypanosome infection rate was higher in female flies than in male ones. The method of using a slow moving vehicle, resulted in the capture of more old flies than young ones — of both sexes 3- and more males than females. G. longipennis was not amenable to trapping by any of the two mechanical traps used (Moloo’s trap, and the biconical trap of Challier and Laveissiere).

Capture of Screwworm and Secondary Screwworm Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in a Time-Interval Grid Trap and Correlation with Temperature and Humidity1

A time-interval electrocuter grid trap was successfully modified to collect adult screwworms, Cochliomyia hominivorax , and secondary screwworms, C. macellaria , during 14 hourly diurnal periods. Peak captures of screwworms were made in the morning, but collections of secondary screwworms were made in larger and more uniform numbers throughout the day. The total numbers captured and the activity patterns were highly variable day to day. Seasonally, captures peaked around midday during cooler weather, but were more evenly distributed throughout the day during hotter weather. Hourly captures of both species were positively correlated with increasing temperature in the range 20° to 33 °C. Screwworm capture was very low at temperatures below 20 °C, peaked at ca 33 °C, and appeared to decrease when the temperature rose from 33° to 35 °C. Secondary screw worms were detected over a greater temperature range than were screwworms, possibly because secondary screwworms were present at much higher numbers. Captures of secondary screwworms did not decrease between 33° and 35 °C. Additionally, a high degree of variation occurred both in diurnal pattern of fly activity and in numbers captured of both species even between successive days having apparently identical temperature and humidity patterns. Relative humidity did not appear to influence captures, except that captures were zero or extremely low during rains.

The functional morphology of the praying mantis forelimb (Dictyoptera: Mantodea)

The structure and function of the forelimbs of praying mantids are discussed. A large spine on the femur and the spine on the end of the tibia were shown experimentally to be important in the capture of unrestrained flies. These spines may function to narrow the gap through which a fly may escape while the tibia is closing on the femur. Some of the spines on the femur are hinged at their base; the structure, properties and possible functions of these spines are discussed. Similar hinged spines are reported on the lorelimbs of Stomatopoda (CrustaceaI but were not found in the Mantispidac (Neuroptera:Insecta). The variation of forelimb structure within the Mantodea is briefly discussed. The theory that the optimum prev size can be predicted from the geometry of the mantid forelimb is critically discussed.

Digger wasp predatory behavior (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae): fly hunting and capture by Oxybelus uniglumis (Crabroninae: Oxybelini); a case of extremely concentrated stinging pattern and prey nervous system

Several Orthoptera-hunting wasps usually deliver four paralyzing stings to their prey (one for each thoracic segment and one for the ventral side of the neck) in a predictable, although not immutable, order. This also matches the number of thoracic ganglia of the ventral nerve cord and leg pairs plus the subesophageal ganglion that controls the potentially dangerous mandibles. Oxybelus wasps usually deliver only one thoracic sting, behind one foreleg base, and no neck sting. Many flies have only a single mass of fused ganglia in the thorax, no subesophageal ganglion, and no potentially dangerous mouthparts. Furthermore, some Oxybelus wasps use the sting for prey carriage. The number of thoracic stings matches the number of thoracic ganglionic masses (one), rather than the number of leg pairs (three), thoracic segments (three), or pairs of easily punctured soft membranes (three). This case of extremely reduced paralyzing sequence and prey nervous system is discussed from an evolutionary standpoint and compared with cases in which less or no such reduction occurred. Correlative differences in the state of the prey are also considered.

Swormlure-2 Baited Traps for Detection of Native Screwworm Flies1

A survey was conducted in 12 south Texas counties from Jan.–Apr. 1976 to evaluate swormlure-2 baited traps for detection of native screwworm flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel). In 6 of the 12 test counties, native screwworms were caught before the 1st screwworm case was confirmed. In 3 of the remaining 6 counties, native screwworm flies were captured within 10 days after the 1st case was confirmed. In the other 3 counties, screwworm cases were reported several weeks prior to the 1st capture of flies. The information provided by this survey was used by program officials in the operation of the ongoing screwworm eradication program.

Field Tests of the Response of Rhagoletis pomonella1 to Apples 2

Field tests showed that during the first 2 weeks of August more sexually mature apple maggot flies, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), were captured in apple trees containing real fruit than in trees without fruit or trees containing artificial apples. During the last 2 weeks of August, when the numbers of flies were rapidly declining, similar numbers of flies were captured in all 3 groups of trees. Only a small number of fruit in a mature apple tree was needed to increase the capture of flies, but an equal number of artificial apples had no such effect. This demonstrated that the maturity of apples affects the response of the flies, and suggests that factors other than visual stimuli are involved.

House fly capture as a function of number of traps in a dairy barn.

House fly capture as a function of number of traps in a dairy barn.

Simuliidae, Ceratopogonidae, and Chloropidae as Prey of Oxybelus emarginatum1

Excellent accounts of the nesting behavior of solitary wasps have been recorded (Evans 1960, 1966; Krombein 1964), but few studies have been made on the actual capture and removal of blood-sucking flies from animals by these Hymenoptera. References to Hymenoptera as predators of Simuliidae are rare (Vargas 1945), and little is known of the effectiveness of these natural control agents.