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COMMON HOUSEFLY

 

Musca domestica L.:  Diptera, Muscidae

 

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       The common housefly, Musca domestica L. has been a constant associated of humans over much of our modern history.  Attempts to control its populations by biological means have been extensive and on occasion successful in special situations.  More frequently, they have failed to reduce numbers to acceptable levels.  It should be emphasized that control of M. domestica populations as well as other endophilic flies pestiferous to humans, would be largely unnecessary if waste products produced by human activities could be appropriately managed.  Since this is not the case, efforts towards the biological control of these species have been emphasized.  The existence of three known biotypes in the ancestral home of eastern Africa indicates that further exploration for effective natural enemies is desirable.  Thus far, only the biotype known as the "Port Type" that has invaded around the world has been studied, whereas the "Savanna" and "Boreal" types remain to be examined in their home range..

 

       The housefly, lays its eggs in decaying vegetable matter or animal excrement.  The legless larvae are maggots with mouth hooks, caudal and thoracic spiracles.  Their filthy habits of regurgitating saliva and food cause them to be vectors of typhoid, cholera, and dysentery. etc.  Either feces or regurgitations cause the flyspecks often found on surfaces.  Houseflies have been the target of biological control in California and elsewhere (see ch-50.htm)

 

       Parasitic wasps have been the most commonly studied natural enemies.  Most of the published work has dealt with seasonal occurrence of parasitoids (Legner & Brydon 1966, Ables & Shepard 1976a,b; Legner & Greathead 1969, Legner & Olton 1971, Rutz & Axtell 1980a, 1980b, Petersen & Meyer 1983a & b, Mullens et al. 1986) and their experimental releases (Legner & Brydon 1966, Legner & Dietrick 1974, Morgan et al. 1975q, Olton & Legner 1975  , Rutz & Axtell 1979).

History of Biological Control Attempts

       Beginning at the turn of the 20th Century to about 1968, biological control of flies that breed in waste habitats was attempted by the introduction of a broad range of different natural enemies into areas where the flies presented problems.  The Pacific Islands were a focus of much attention with the introduction of dung beetles, several parasitoids and predators during this period.  It was believed that the accidental introduction of an ant, Pheidole meagcephala Fab., combined with the introduction of the coprophagous dung beetle, Hister chinensis Quensel, caused significant fly reductions on the islands of Fiji and Samoa (Simmonds 1958).  The Islands of Hawaii had 16 introductions from 1909 to 1967 of which 12 established.  However, the exact role of these natural enemies in overall regulation of flies on the islands is still not well understood (Legner et al. 1974, Legner 1978).

 

       Rodriguez & Riehl (1962) in California used the novel and successful approach of chicken cockerels as direct predators of fly larvae in chicken and rabbit manure.  However, this technique is not utilized today because of the threat that roving birds pose to the spread of avian pathogens.

 

       Research during 1970-1990 centered on the more highly destructive parasitoid and predatory species.  Examples such as the encyrtid Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead, five species of the pteromalid genus Muscidifurax and Spalangia sp. were evaluated for their capabilities of attacking dipterous larvae and pupae in various breeding sources.  They are believed to be capable of successful fly suppression if the right species and strains are applied in the right locality (Gold & Dahlsten 1981, Morgan et al. 1975, Morgan 1977, Olton & Legner 1975, Pickens et al. 1975, Rutz & Axtell 1979, Propp & Morgan 1985a & b, Axtell & Rutz 1986, Legner 1988a & b,  Mandeville et al. 1988, Pawson & Petersen 1988).  Other approaches have included the use of pathogens and predatory mites, and inundative releases of parasitoids and predators (Ripa 1986).  Although partially successful, none of these strategies have become the sole method for fly control, and the wrong choice of a parasitoid strain may have detrimental results (Legner 1986).  Instead, the focus is on integrated controls including other methods such as cultural, adult baiting and aerosol treatments with short residual insecticides.  However, it is generally agreed that existing predatory complexes exert great influences on fly densities (Legner et al. 1975 & 1980; Geden 1984, Geden et al. 1987, 1988; Geden & Axtell 1988) and that many biological control agents of endophilous flies have not been thoroughly surveyed, nor their potential adequately assessed (Mullens 1986, Mullens et al. 1986).

 

 

REFERENCES:

 

Axtell, R. C. & D. A. Rutz.  1986.  Role of parasites and predators as biological fly control agents in poultry production facilities, p. 88-100.

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Geden, C. J. & R. C. Axtell.  1988.  Predation by Carcinops pumilio (Coleoptera: Histeridae) and Macrocheles muscaedomesticae

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Geden, C. J., R. F. Stinner & R. C. Axtell.  1988.  Predation by predators of the house fly in poultry manure:  effects of predator density,

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Geden, C J; Rutz, D A; Steinkraus, D C.  1995.  Virulence of different isolates and formulations of Beauveria bassiana for house flies and the

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      Environ. Ent. 17:  739-44.

 

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