ARS | Publication request: HYDROTAEA AENESCENS, A LARVAL PREDATOR OF THE HOUSE FLY: A SUMMARY OF RECENT RESEARCH.

Submitted to: Invertebrate Pathology and Microbial Congress Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: August 1, 2001
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The black fly, Hydrotaea aenescens, is a larval predator, native to the Western Hemisphere, that has been used for biological control programs against house flies in confinement swine and poultry facilities in the U.S. and Europe. However this fly is still relatively unknown in some countries and has a bad reputation in South America for undocumented reasons. Therefore this abstract was written to accompany an oral presentation designed to familiarize an international audience with the potential benefits of this fly. The fly's basic biology, ecology and behavior were described as well as studies showing its effects on house fly populations in laboratory studies. Field studies were also presented, included recent attempts to establish H. aenescens population on dairies.