Effects of Diet Quality and Temperature on Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Development

Abstract

The effects of diet quality and temperature on the development time and size of stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), was evaluated. Both development time and size varied relative to diet quality and temperature, and their effects were additive. Diet quality and temperature made similar contributions to the variance in size whereas temperature was responsible for >97% of the variance in development time. Regression analysis predicted the shortest development time, egg to adult, to be 12.7 days at 32 °C and 70% nutrients. Egg to adult development varied curvilinearly relative to diet quality and temperature on the degree day 10 (DD10) scale taking 261 DD10 at 30 °C and 50% nutrients. The thermal threshold was 11.5 °C with a thermal constant of 248. Very few stable flies developed to adult on the poorest diet (12.5% nutrients) and adults emerged from fewer than 1% of the puparia at 35 °C. The heaviest pupae (15.4 mg) were produced with the 100% diet at 15 °C and adults had a higher probability of emerging successfully from heavier puparia. The length of the discal-medial cell of adult wings had a cubic relationship with puparia weight and peaked at 21 °C. Egg to pupariation survival was predicted to peak at 27 °C and 71% diet whereas puparia to adult survival peaked at 24 °C and 100% diet. Diet quality and temperature had no effect on sex ratio and the rate of development did not differ between the sexes. Female stable flies were ≈5% larger than males. Composite metrics for egg to pupariation and egg to adult fitness were developed. The optimum for puparia fitness was 29 °C and 78% diet quality and for adult fitness 25 °C and 83% diet quality. Diet accounted for 31% of the variance in pupal fitness and 24% of the variance in adult fitness whereas temperature accounted for 17% and 20%, respectively.

The combined effects of temperature and relative humidity parameters on the reproduction of Stomoxys species in a laboratory setting

“…This was due to an earlier study which showed that constant incubation temperatures at 35°C, 20°C and 15°C resulted in high mortalities in immature Stomoxys forms [ 20 ]. For Stomoxys calcitran s, egg to adult survival for all of the constant temperatures was similar to those observed by Florez-Cuadros, Berkebile [ 29 ]. Maintaining an incubation microclimate with a humidity of 70% and a temperature of 27° C provided a large population of Stomoxys spp under laboratory settings, reaching 70% or more of the number of stock pupae available.…”

Evaluation in vitro of the virulence of two entomopathogenic heterorhabditid nematodes in the control of Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae) larvae in byproducts of the sugar and alcohol industry

“…The conditions of this bioassay provided some of the most important information of the data set obtained from the present study, because, considering the possibility of creating an integrated stable fly control system using EPNs, the temperature that these organisms can withstand is a crucial factor for the success of such an application. These data indicate that IJs of H. baujardi LPP7 are highly vulnerable to both pure vinasse and temperatures close to the limit for stable fly development ( Florez-Cuadros et al, 2019 ), while H. bacteriophora HP88 proved to be little affected. Studies dealing with the heat resistance of the genus Heterorhabditis indicate that, in general, the optimal temperature for the development, infection, and reproduction of these EPNs is around 25 °C ( Shaurub et al, 2015 ).…”

Pasture dragging fails to reliably suppress the emergence of horn flies (Haematobia irritans) and face flies (Musca autumnalis) from dung pats in aMid‐AtlanticNorth American climate

“…Next, emergence traps (described below) were placed over the manure pats for 14 days—enough time for horn fly and face fly larvae to develop and be captured as adults. In 2018, the traps were kept in place for an additional 7 days to capture any stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), that emerged from the manure pat area (stable fly development is about 21 days at 25C; Florez‐Cuadros et al, 2019). Flies were removed from traps about once per week.…”