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

The effects of diet quality and temperature on the development time and size of stable flies, (L.), was evaluated. Both development time and size varied relative to diet quality and temperature, and their effects were additive.

Laboratory Rearing of Stable Flies and Other Muscoid Diptera.

Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans, are serious pests of livestock, humans, companion animals and wildlife worldwide. During the last 20+ years, changes in agronomic practices resulted in serious outbreaks of stable flies in several countries. These outbreaks disrupted livestock production and human recreation resulting in public demands for increasing research and management efforts for this pest.

Augmenting Laboratory Rearing of Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Larvae With Ammoniacal Salts.

Stable flies are blood feeding parasites and serious pests of livestock. The immature stages develop in decaying materials which frequently have high ammonium content. We added various ammonium salts to our laboratory stable fly rearing medium and measured their effect on size and survival as well as the physical properties of the used media.

Environmental Parameters Associated With Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Development at Hay Feeding Sites.

Substrates composed of hay residues, dung, and urine accumulate around winter hay feeding sites in cattle pastures, providing developmental habitats for stable flies. The objective of this study was to relate physiochemical and microbial properties of these substrates to the presence or absence of stable fly larvae. Properties included pH, temperature, moisture, ammonium concentration, electrical conductivity, and numbers of coliform, fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus bacteria.

Nepetalactones from essential oil of Nepeta cataria represent a stable fly feeding and oviposition repellent.

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most serious pests to livestock. It feeds mainly on cattle and causes significant economic losses in the cattle industry.