Suppression of House Flies (Diptera: Muscidae) in Florida Poultry Houses by Sustained Releases ofMuscidifurax raptorellusandSpalangia cameroni(Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Competition between the Filth Fly Parasitoids Muscidifurax raptor and M. raptorellus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

“…As a result, it has been argued that augmentative releases of parasitoids for fly management might be improved by releasing combinations of Muscidifurax and Spalangia spp. to take advantage of their complimentary host-searching strategies (Geden and Hogsette 2006), an approach that has been used for crop pests as well (Ehler 1978, Heinz and Nelson 1996.…”

“…Inundative releases have resulted in high parasitism in cattle feedlots Cawthra 1995, Floate et al 2000), dairy calf housing (Kaufman et al 2012), and some poultry systems (Kaufman et al 2001b, McKay et al 2007). In addition to single-species releases, M. raptorellus sometimes has been paired with a second species in an effort to broaden niche coverage by the parasitoids (Meyer et al 1990, Kaufman et al 2001a, McKay et al 2007, Geden and Hogsette 2006.…”

“…In some cases, combinations of a Spalangia and Muscidifurax species have been used in the hope of exploiting between-genera niche differences to broaden the reach of the releases into a wider habitat range Jones 1998, Geden andHogsette 2006). In others, combinations of solitary Muscidifurax species (M. raptor and M. zaraptor Kogan and Legner) and M. raptorellus have been used because of the cost-effectiveness that the latter offers (Kaufman et al 2002(Kaufman et al , 2012.…”

Comparison of the Olfactory Preferences of Four of Filth Fly Pupal Parasitoid Species (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) for Hosts in Equine and Bovine Manure

“…Commercial insectaries rear and sell a variety of species, including Muscidifurax raptor Girault & Sanders and Splangia cameroni Perkins (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Although releases of these species have proven effective as part of integrated pest management programs in a variety of production systems (Geden et al 1992;Geden & Hogsette 2006;Birkemoe et al 2009), questions remain about the numbers of parasitoids needed to provide satisfactory management and the best methods to deploy parasitized hosts in the field.…”

“…Parasitoids can be released by either scattering parasitized puparia in areas of known fly breeding (Rutz & Axtell 1981;Kaufman et al 2002Kaufman et al , 2012Skovgård 2004) or by placing them in release stations that protect them from damage and accidental removal (Geden et al 1992;Petersen et al 1995;Crespo et al 1998;Weinzierl & Jones 1998;Floate 2003;Skovgård & Nachman 2004;Geden & Hogsette 2006). Although release stations provide protection, scattering has the advantage of placing the parasitoids near the target fly puparia and mitigates concerns about the limited dispersal distances of some species (Tobin & Pitts 1999;Skovgård 2002;.…”