ARS | Publication request: DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROTAEA AENESCENS (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) IN MANURE OF UNWEANED DAIRY CALVES AND LACTATING COWS

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: November 1, 2001
Publication Date: February 13, 2002
Citation: HOGSETTE JR, J.A., FARKAS, R., COLER, R.R. DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROTAEA AENESCENS (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) IN MANURE OF UNWEANED DAIRY CALVES AND LACTATING COWS. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 2002. v.95. p.527-530.

Interpretive Summary: Larvae of the black dump fly, H. aenescens, are facultative predators of house fly larvae and are being used for biological control of house flies in swine and poultry houses. However, H. aenescens has not been reported to develop in the manures of cows or calves on dairy farms. Because house flies can develop in the manures of cows and unweaned calves, and because the ability of H. aenescens to develop in the same manure types has not been studied, scientists at the USDA Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL, and the University of Veterinary Science, Budapest, Hungary, determined the performance of H. aenescens in these manures. H. aenescens was able to develop successfully in manure from calves during their 8-week weaning period. Development was lowest in manure produced by 1-week-old calves and highest in manure produced by calves between 4 and 8 weeks old. H. aenescens also developed successfully in the manure of adult lactating cows. Results indicate that H. aenescens might be developed as an additional tool for use in integrated fly management programs on dairy farms.

Technical Abstract: Larvae of the black dump fly, Hydrotaea aenescens (Wied.) were reared in the manure of unweaned calves and lactating adult cows to determine if their development was affected by manure type or calf age. Except for low development in manure from 1-week-old calves, fly development was essentially the same in the remaining manure types. This is the first known report of H. aenescens development in cow or calf manure. Developmen times and pupal weights were similar to those expected when H. aenescens is produced under standard laboratory rearing procedures. Results indicate that H. aenescens may be suitable for use in biological control programs for management of house flies on dairy farms.