House Fly Populations Research Articles

Evaluation of a method for maintaining age-structured populations of house-flies, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), to study the evolution of insecticide resistance

AbstractAn inexpensive and versatile method for maintaining age-structured Musca domestica L. populations for studies on the evolution of insecticide resistance is described. Adult flies are kept in spacious aluminium cages in which age-structuring is maintained by the thrice-weekly addition of pupae bred from eggs collected from within the cages. The population size is regulated in a density-independent manner by constraining the input of pupae to that necessary to maintain the required equilibrium density of adults within a cage. Adult numbers are monitored by photographing from outside the cage flies settled on a grid etched on the rear wall, and by converting this grid count to an estimate of population size using a calculated regression line. Observed changes in fly numbers in a cage accorded well with those predicted by a computer model using empirical data on larval productivity, and the emergence and survivorship schedules of adult flies. Since a variety of insecticide control regimes can be applied within the cage, this system enables an adequate yet tractable simulation of selection for resistance by insecticides under field conditions.

Temporal and spatial trends in allozyme frequencies in house fly populations, Musca domestica L.

Allelic and genotypic frequencies were sampled from a single age class of the common house fly, Musca domestica L., at five farms on six dates from July 6 to October 12, 1982. Allozymes at six loci were resolved with vertical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. No consistent departures from random mating were detected. No consistent linkage disequilibrium was observed. Allele frequencies at the farms changed in independent and unpredictable ways. Gene frequencies at the five farms were initially divergent, converged in midsummer, and then progressively diverged. The divergence occured in mid-August when fly populations were large. Variation in gene frequencies at adjacent farms accounted for a large proportion of the variance in allele frequencies among all farms. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that allele frequencies in young adult flies reflected the habitat in which they matured as larvae.

Synergized or Unsynergized Permethrin for House Fly Control in Caged Layer Buildings, 1985

Abstract This experiment was applied in separate, identical caged layer houses ca. 930 m2 each. Such houses contained ca. 10,000 Single Comb White Leghorn (Heisdorf and Nelson) 1-yr-old laying hens in single-tier raised wire cages suspended over shallow manure pits. The sides were open and the houses were separated by ca. 33 m. General sanitary conditions were poor; however, house flies had been controlled effectively with sprays of permethrin emulsifiable concentrate (EC) the previous year. Materials tested included 1) 0.1% active ingredient (AI) Permectrin permethrin EC in 37.9 liters water, 2) 0.1% AI permethrin with 0.2% AI piperonyl butoxide (PBO) in 37.9 liters water, 3) 0.2% AI PBO in 37.9 liters water, 4) 0.1% AI permethrin in 12.5 liters soybean oil, and 5) 0.1% AI permethrin with 0.2% AI PBO in 12.5 liters soybean oil. A second trial included 1) 0.1% AI permethrin with 0.2% PBO in 37.9 liters water, and 2) 0.3% AI permethrin with 0.6% AI PBO in 12.5 liters soybean oil. The materials were applied to the walls, celing and related superstructure of test houses by using a gasoline-powered backpack sprayer which produced a spray velocity of ca. 100 m/sec. In all cases, measured amounts of insecticide were expended evenly throughout the houses. Identical, proximate houses were left untreated and served as controls. House fly population levels were assessed prior to and at regular intervals after treatment by using 7.6 by 12.7 cm white cards to record fly specks. A total of 6 such cards was employed per house, and all cards were situated for 24 h periods in identical locations in test and control houses.

Age Composition and Seasonal Phenology of House-Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Populations1

Age-grading techniques were applied to house-fly (Musca domestica) populations sampled at a dairy farm in Ames, Iowa, USA, from June 1978 to September 1980. Seven gonotrophic classes were used to study population structure. Fecundity was estimated by counting the numbers of functional ovarioles. The mean number of eggs per female was 103, with a large seasonal variation. Daily survival probabilities among adult female flies were estimated, and the mean was 83%. An average daily survival rate of 73% was estimated among populations subjected to ad hoc space and residual treatments with organophosphorous insecticides and application of insecticidal baits. A mean of 64 eggs was produced by an untreated adult house fly over an average lifetime of 5.4 days. A mean of 22 eggs was produced in an average lifetime of 3.2 days by females subjected to insecticidal pressure. Oscillations in age structure were observed in all years. There were corresponding oscillations in fly density.

Factors affecting resistance to insecticides in house-flies,Musca domesticaL. (Diptera: Muscidae). IV. The population biology of flies on animal farms in south-eastern England and its implications for the management of resistance

AbstractWays in which the bionomics and dynamics of populations ofMusca domesticaL. can influence the development of insecticide resistance, and how resistance genes spread within and between farms was investigated in a three-year study of the biology and movement of flies on 63 pig-rearing farms in south-eastern England. House-flies survived winter only on 12 ‘overwintering’ farms where they bred in heated pig-rearing houses (‘closed buildings’) throughout the year. In late spring they appeared out doors, and their descendents founded populations on neighbouring ‘summer’ farms where pigs breed only in unheated (‘open’) buildings. There, flies reached peak numbers in August–September and died out by mid-November. Gene flow within and between farms was studied indirectly by mark-release-recapture of colour-marked adults, and directly by monitoring the diffusion of the visible marker genebwb(brown body) introduced into indigenous house-fly populations. Although movement between open buildings within a farm was unrestricted, dispersal between farms was limited, and gene flow between even adjacent closed buildings was indirect, and required more than one generation. Likewise, indirect and gradual gene flow during summer probably accounted for the similarity in type and frequency of other independent genetic markers of local overwintering populations. Thus closed buildings played a key role in house-fly ecology and population genetics. Unfortunately, control with persistent insecticides in these buildings ensures efficient resistance selection, ultimately resulting in its spread to all pig farms. Less selective control practices are needed at these sites.

A new method to control houseflies, Musca domestica, at waste disposal sites

SummaryInvestigation was carried out from 1976 to 1979 to establish a new control system against the houseflies, Musca domestica, at a sea‐filling waste disposal site in Osaka Bay, Japan.Field surveys showed that the garbage was favorble for the fly breeding for 20–30 days after being disposed, while the sewage sludge and the ash from incinerated refuse were unfavorable. Comparing the fly density at the site to the reported cases of the public complaints in the urban area near to the site, a complaint threshold density of the flies at the site was estimated. Then, a control threshold density was assumed from the complaint threshold density and the reproductive rate of the housefly population. Several insecticides, as well as a surface active agent, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether (PEL), were found effective for the temporary suppression of the fly density.Based on the results obtained, the following control system was worked out. 1) Refuse is disposed onto the same area as other inorganic wastes to deteriorate the capacity of breeding sources. 2) The fly density is examined on newly disposed refuse almost everyday by landfill operators. 3) PEL is sprayed when the density slightly exceeds the control threshold density. If the density increases rather higher, insecticide should be used. 4) The disposed refuse is covered with soil or other inorganic wastes on every weekend or every other weekend by 15 cm thickness.Success in both fly control and reduction of the amounts of insecticides sprayed was achieved by a field application of this new control system.

Factors affecting resistance to insecticides in house-flies,Musca domesticaL. (Diptera: Muscidae). IV. The population biology of flies on animal farms in south-eastern England and its implications for the management of resistance

AbstractWays in which the bionomics and dynamics of populations ofMusca domesticaL. can influence the development of insecticide resistance, and how resistance genes spread within and between farms was investigated in a three-year study of the biology and movement of flies on 63 pig-rearing farms in south-eastern England. House-flies survived winter only on 12 ‘overwintering’ farms where they bred in heated pig-rearing houses (‘closed buildings’) throughout the year. In late spring they appeared out doors, and their descendents founded populations on neighbouring ‘summer’ farms where pigs breed only in unheated (‘open’) buildings. There, flies reached peak numbers in August–September and died out by mid-November. Gene flow within and between farms was studied indirectly by mark-release-recapture of colour-marked adults, and directly by monitoring the diffusion of the visible marker genebwb(brown body) introduced into indigenous house-fly populations. Although movement between open buildings within a farm was unrestricted, dispersal between farms was limited, and gene flow between even adjacent closed buildings was indirect, and required more than one generation. Likewise, indirect and gradual gene flow during summer probably accounted for the similarity in type and frequency of other independent genetic markers of local overwintering populations. Thus closed buildings played a key role in house-fly ecology and population genetics. Unfortunately, control with persistent insecticides in these buildings ensures efficient resistance selection, ultimately resulting in its spread to all pig farms. Less selective control practices are needed at these sites.

Controle de Musca domestica Linnaeus (Diptera, Muscidae) em área de manejo de vinhaça (Macatuba, São Paulo, Brasil)

Refuse from sugar and alcohol industries is rich in organic matter, offering an ideal breeding ground for house-flies. This pest breeds in countless numbers in such substrate, causing severe outbreaks in several counties of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. To control the nuisance, the formula: borax (Na2B4O7) and slaked lime (Ca(OH)2) solutions of 3.18% and 0.35%, respectively, were applied at the channels carrying the waste waters from the alcohol refinery at intervals of 10-15 days. With this method, a very satisfactory control of house-fly populations was obtained at Macatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, between July 1981 and April 1982.

ON THE EVOLUTIONARY REVERSAL OF COMPETITIVE DOMINANCE.

The relationship between ecology and genetics is investigated, in part, by coevolutionary biology. One aspect of this relationship is the effect that genetic variability and natural selection have on determining the outcome of competitive interactions. This paper investigates the evolutionary reversal of competitive dominance, a particular mechanism whereby genetic considerations may influence competitive outcomes and population abundances. The formulation of these models was motivated by the laboratory experiments of Pimentel et al. (1965) with houseflies and blowflies and by the experiments of Ayala (1966a, 1969) and Moore (195 2a) with Drosophila. Arthur (1982) critically reviews these experiments. Pimentel et al. (1965) give a description of the dynamic interplay between the intensity of selection for competitive ability and the relative abundances of two competing species that forms the basis of the reversal of dominance. Suppose a rare and an abundant species are engaged in a competitive interaction. Members of the rare species will encounter the abundant species more often than they will encounter individuals of their own kind, hence superior interspecific competitive ability will be selected for. Conversely, individuals of the abundant species will encounter their own type more frequently, hence superior intraspecific competitive ability will be selected for. As the interspecific competitive ability of the originally rare species increases, the density of that species will increase and eventually overtake that of the originally abundant species, thereby producing a reversal of dominance. The most common experimental result of the authors cited above was for only one, or sometimes no, reversals of dominance to be observed, after which either the experiment was terminated, or one of the competitors went extinct. For example, in the experiment of Pimentel et al. (1965) houseflies and blowflies competed in a multicell laboratory cage. In nature, the houseflies and blowflies coexist on refuse and dung, while the laboratory populations oviposited on the same mixture of liver, yeast, agar and dried milk. During the first 50 weeks, or about 25 generations, houseflies comprised approximately 92% of the total fly population, and blowflies 8%. At about the twenty-fifth generation the blowfly abundance increased rapidly, with a concurrent decrease in the housefly population, which went extinct shortly thereafter. In single cell cages the blowfly usually went extinct, presumably before it could evolve increased interspecific competitive ability. Pimentel et al. therefore postulated that the spatial structure of the multicell cage allowed the blowfly to coexist sufficiently long for evolution, and hence a reversal of dominance, to occur. In this paper, I will use a quantitative genetical approach to modeling the evolution of species interactions and the reversal of dominance. The outline of the remainder of the paper is as follows: Three related mathematical models will be derived and discussed. In these models a distinction is made between the constant, nonevolutionary component of the competition coefficients, with a genetic variance of zero, and the part of the competition coefficients which is subject to evolutionary change, and therefore has a positive genetic variance. The first model is neutrally stable, and is used as a foundation on which the remaining two more

Monitoring House Fly, Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae), Populations in Caged-Layer Poultry Houses Using a Baited Jug-Trap 1

A baited jug-trap for sampling house fly populations is described. We found trapping of house flies to be most effective at the roof peak in a narrow caged-layer poultry house and ca. 1 m above the manure in a high-rise poultry house, using the jug-trap baited with Super Golden Malrin®, containing 0.025% 2-(1-methylethoxy) phenol methylcarbamate, 0.04% 2, 2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate, and 0.025% (Z)-9-tricosene. Yellow painted jug-traps caught more house flies than red, green, blue, black, or white. The period of greatest fly catches in the trap was between 1200 and 1700 EST. Traps baited with the slowrelease synthetic house fly attractant (88% fishmeal, 5% trimethylamine hydrochloride, 5% ammonium sulfate, 1% indole, and 1% linoleic acid) caught fewer flies than traps baited with Improved Golden Malrin®, containing 1.0% methomyl ( S -methyl N -[methylcarbamoyl] oxy) thioacetimidate and 0.025% (Z)-9-tricosene, or Super Golden Malrin, and caught more flies than traps baited with Golden Malrin®, containing 0.093% 2, 2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate and 0.25% 0, 0 -dimethyl 0 -(2, 4, 5-trichlorophenyl) phosphorothioate, when tested in a narrow caged-layer poultry house. Indole was found to be the most attractive chemical in the synthetic formulation and ammonium sulfate decreased the attractiveness of the formulation. We advocate the use of a white, translucent jug-trap baited with 25 g of Improved Golden Malrin and hung at the level of the upper cages as a simple, practical method for monitoring house fly populations in caged-layer houses.

House fly oviposition inhibition by larvae ofHermetia illucens, the black soldier fly

Wild populations of house flies were inhibited from ovipositing into poultry manure containing larvae of the black soldier fly,Hermetia illucens (L.). A laboratory strain of house fly responded differently, readily ovipositing into manure with lower densities of soldier fly larvae, but avoiding the higher densities tested. The amount of timeH. illucens larvae occupy the manure prior to an oviposition test influences ovipositional responses of house flies. Manure conditioned byH. illucens larvae for 4-5 days did not significantly inhibit house fly oviposition. We suggest that some type of interspecific chemical communication (allomone) is present.

Control of House Flies in Cage-Layer Manure with Larvadex, 1982

Abstract The effectiveness of the insect growth regulator Larvadex was evaluated utilizing four cage-layer poultry houses located at Jaskolka’s Egg Farm, Inc., in Auburn, NH. Houses 1 and 2 were each 10,200 sq feet and contained 20,000 birds; house 3 was 10,200 sq feet and contained 29,000 birds; house 4 was 12,000 sq feet and contained 30,000 birds. Larvadex 0.3% Premix was blended with layer diet at a rate of 1 lb per ton of feed. In each house, Larvadex was introduced into the diet of the chickens when adult house fly populations began to build up. Feeding of the Larvadex-treated diet was continuous until the adult fly population reached a low level or was completely absent. The birds then received untreated diet until the adult house fly populations started to build up again. Evaluations were made by using 3 by 5-in. cards fastened to the walls and posts about 5 ft above the floor in the manure pits. Twenty cards, spaced 24 ft apart, were used in each house. The cards were replaced weekly for a period of 15 wk beginning 19 Apr. and ending 28 Jul. The number of fly specks found on the cards was used to measure the adult population levels before and after feeding the treated diet. Observations on the relative adult population level in each house were also recorded throughout the study.

Identification of a male determinant on the X chromosome of housefly (Musca domestica L.) populations in South-East England

SUMMARYHouseflies collected from eight pig-breeding farms were used to investigate the nature of sex determinants in fly populations of South-East England. Earlier observations had shown that their sex determination mechanism was not of the standard (XX females, XY males) type.Most flies of both sexes were XX; the male determining Y chromosome of standard populations was rare. Test-crosses to females of standard multimarked strains and crosses using aneuploid (OX) flies identified two dominant male determinants, one on autosome 3 (M III) and another on the X chromosome (Xm), and provided the first demonstration in this species of an active involvement of the X chromosome in sex determination. A small secondary constriction on X appeared to indicate reliably the presence of Xm. Most individuals in field populations were Xm homozygotes, implying the presence of an unlocated female determinant F,† epistatic to Xm and M III.M III was less common and differed in frequency between samples. Its increased frequency in a strain selected in the laboratory with the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin might be due either to genetic drift, or to linkage between M III and a gene on autosome 3 that confers resistance to pyrethroids in houseflies.

House Fly and Lesser Fly Control Utilizing the Black Soldier Fly in Manure Management Systems for Caged Laying Hens

Four manure treatments were utilized in an experimental caged layer house. One excluded soldier flies, Hermetia illucens (L.), and other dipterous larvae chemically; one was a check; one initially favored the soldier fly with a single addition of 2.5 cm water; and one allowed periodic development of house fly, Musca domestica L., and lesser house fly, Fannia canicularis (L.), larvae by monthly removal of all manure and soldier fly larvae. Soldier fly larvae were demonstrated to cause significant reductions in house fly and lesser house fly populations and manure moisture. Manure accumulation was also reduced.

Evaluation of Sequential Releases of Spalangia endius (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) for Control of House Flies and Stable Flies (Diptera: Muscidae) Associated with Confined Livestock in Eastern Nebraska1

The pteromalid wasp Spalangia endius Walker was released for 13 weeks on two eastern Nebraska livestock feedlots for the control of house flies and stable flies. Parasitism of stable flies averaged 7.8 and 8.8% on nonrelease (control) lots and release lots, respectively: parasitism of house flies averaged 12.8 and 18.4% for the control and release lots, respectively. Spalangia cameroni Perkins, S. nigroaenea Curtis, S. nigra Latreille, and Muscidifurax spp. were native to the feedlots. S. endius was also recovered from the control lots in very low numbers. The strains of S. endius used in this study were ineffective in controlling house fly and stable fly populations under the conditions imposed and at the numbers released.

Management of an insecticide-resistant house fly (Diptera: Muscidae) population by the strategic use of a benzylphenol chemosterilant.

Laboratory tests were performed on a strain of Musca domestica L. from the Mission, Tex., screwworm rearing plant which had previously shown insecticide resistance to propoxur, coumaphos, and DDT. The application of the benzylphenol chemosterilant J2644 [2,4-bis (1,1-dimethyl)-6-(4-methoxyphenyl methyl) phenol] to 6-day-old females (physiologically mature) reduced egg hatchability to 1 to 3%, but 2- to 4-day-old females were less affected (59 to 65% egg hatchability). However, females in the second ovipositional cycle were fertile. Males were not affected. When house fly populations breeding within the Mission rearing plant and Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, rearing plant were treated with 1% (wt/wt) J2644, egg hatchability declined from 73 to 2% in 8 days and from 86 to 5% in 6 days, respectively. The number of house flies collected at survey sites declined to near 0 within 3 to 5 weeks after treatment started.

Control of Manure Breeding Flies in Poultry Houses with Larvadex, 1981

Abstract Three high rise poultry houses located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania were used to evaluate Larvadex, an insect growth inhibitor for the control of manure breeding muscid flies. Treatment schedules were varied in order to determine the frequency of applications needed in order to maintain control. Two different treatment applications were tested, i.e., mixed in the feed and metered through the water. Changes in house fly populations were monitored by counting the number of adult flies resting within ft marked areas on the walls and posts. As a feed-through, 1 lb of Larvadex 0.3% premix per ton of feed was tested at a high rise house at Penryn. The house was 44 x 478 ft and housed 60,000 caged layers. The house was completely cleaned out before 22-week old birds were moved in on Mar 16. Larvadex was fed from May 4-19, 24-26, Jun 19-21, Jul 16-18, Jul 24-26, Aug 14-16, 21-23, 29-31, Sep 8-10, 16-19, and 26-28. The only other fly control measures taken to reduce adult fly buildup was spraying the pit walls with Atroban 25% WP (permethrin) on Oct 3, ‘80 and baiting upstairs occasionally with Golden Malrin (Lannate). When Larvadex was metered through the water, 3 ml 5% SC per 100 gal water, it was tested in two high rise houses. The house near Colebrook was 44 x 400 ft and housed 50,000 caged layers. The house was cleaned out in Feb before the birds went out and new birds were added Feb 25. Larvadex was immediately started and used every other day until Mar 11. Then it was used on Mar 12-13, 16-30, Apr 3, 6, 13, Apr 20-May 1, May 4-5, 8-9, 12, 15, 20, Jun 1-2, 8-9, 15-16, 22-25, 30, Jul 1, 3-7, and 10-11. None was used again until Sep 1 when it was used everyday for 12 days. After that, it was metered in only 2 rows, where breeding was most evident, until Sep 20. All 5 rows received treatment on Sep 28-30. Other fly control measures taken were spraying 83.8% of the pit wall with Ectrin 15% WP (fenvalerate) on Jul 27, and the upstairs was fogged with C-EM-DIE (pyrethrin) on Aug 21. The house at Ephrata was 44 X 500 ft and housed 45,000 caged layers. The flock had been in place since Nov ‘80 and the manure was totally removed May 8th and 0.33 on Sep 24. Larvadex was used from May 13th to Jun 12, Jun 20-22, Jul 10-11, 17-18, 23-25, Jul 31-Aug 3, Aug 26-28, Sep 4-6, 11-13, 19-21, and 26-28.

Management of Manure Breeding Flies Under Caged-Layers with Cga-72662, 1980

Abstract Two caged-layer houses, located in Grenada Co., MS., were used to evaluate the insect growth inhibitor CGA-72662 for management of house fly and soldier fly breeding in manure. Each house contained 3 manure pits ca 2.14 m wide x 86.9 m long x 0.10 m deep and housed 20,000 layers. Prior to treatment with CGA-72662, the manure was removed each 10 days and Improved Golden Malrin house fly bait was applied for fly control. One house served as an untreated (control) and the other house received CGA-72662 5% SC metered through the water supply. The growth inhibitor was added to the water supply at the rate of 3 ml per 378.4 liteis of water. The test commenced on Aug 15 end continued to Sep 23. Due to the moist condition of the droppings, the houses were cleaned as the pits filled (ca each 10 to 12 days). Management of fly populations was observed for adult house flies in the houses and adults (of both species) emerging from the feces. Adult house fly counts were taken from the flies resting on the overhead electrical wires. At 3 randomly chosen sites in each house, the number of adult house flies were counted while resting on a 3.05 tn section of wire and averaged. No attempt was made to determine adult soldier fly populations. From each treatment, 300 mature larvae or newly formed pupae (of both species) were removed and placed in emergence containers. Pretreatment observations on Aug 15 indicated that larvae of both fly species were numerous in the pits and adult house fly populations were high. The pits were cleaned on Aug 15. From Aug 18 through Sep 23, the growth inhibitor was metered through the water to the treatment house.

Problems in obtaining a description of the evolution of dimethoate resistance in Danish houseflies (Musca domestica)

AbstractData on the evolution of a polygenically determined resistance to dimethoate, in populations of houseflies on Danish farms, were examined in order to see whether useful information about the processes involved could be obtained. Examination of the variance of tolerances in samples of flies suggested that there was considerable genetic variability for resistance before dimethoate was first used, but provided no other information. Before examining estimates of log LD50 (LLD50), the relationship between LLD50 and the log weight of the flies assayed was investigated in an experiment in Denmark, and the standard error of LLD50 estimates was estimated. Examination of LLD50 estimates (adjusted for log weight) provided evidence of substantial migration of flies between farms, which produced large and unpredictable changes in tolerance levels on individual farms, and prevented extraction of further useful information from the data. However, it was concluded that even had migration been negligible, the data would not have provided information suitable for the construction of models of the evolution of this polygenically determined resistance. This conclusion is likely to hold for most existing data. Alternative approaches towards obtaining models of the evolution of polygenically determined resistances are suggested.

House Fly ( Musca domestica ) Control in Broiler-Breeder Poultry Houses by Pupal Parasites (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae): Indigenous Parasite Species and Releases of Muscidifurax raptor1

Seven species of house fly pupal parasites, Spalangia cameroni Perkins, Muscidifurax raptor Girault and Sanders, S. endius Walker, S. nigroaenea Curtis, Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Rondani), S, drosophilae Ashmead, and S. nigra Latreille, were recovered from fly pupae exposed in broiler-breeder poultry houses. S. cameroni and M. raptor ranked first and second, respectively, in overall relative abundance and together both species accounted for 91% of all parasites collected. Weekly sustained releases of an indigenous strain of M. raptor resulted in a significantly higher rate of house fly parasitism, concurrent with a significant reduction in the house fly population at the release farm in comparison to farms without parasite releases.