Improved method for screening mitochondrial cytochrome b markers to identify regional populations of the Old World screwworm fly and other myiasis agents.

A new protocol was developed to overcome obstacles to the high-throughput sequence analysis of the 716-717 nucleotides at the carboxyl terminal of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b (cyt b) of the myiasis flies Chrysomya bezziana and Wohlfahrtia magnifica. For both of these obligate parasites, cyt b haplotypes provide diagnostic markers for phylogeographic populations, markers that identify the origins of emerging populations causing economically important myiasis in livestock and, in the case of C. bezziana (Old World screwworm fly), could help select reproductively-compatible populations for use in the Sterile insect technique as part of area wide integrated pest management.

Environmental and phylogeographical determinants of the distribution of the Old World screwworm fly in Indonesia.

The Old World screwworm (OWS) fly, Chrysomya bezziana, is an obligate parasite of livestock, and the myiasis caused by its larval infestations is economically important in Indonesia. The current spatial distribution of such a pest depends on two main factors: the current environmental conditions in which it can survive; and, its ability to occupy those environments by dispersal, which can be inferred from phylogeography and population genetics. These indicate that all OWS flies in Indonesia have mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) haplotypes of the Asian lineage, and the regional separation of its four sub-lineages is the result of infrequent long-distance dispersal.

Combining cattle and wound-derived synthetic attractants, POC and Bezzilure B, for sampling Chrysomya bezziana in Indonesia.

The myiasis fly Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is an obligate parasite of body orifices and unnatural openings or wounds of vertebrates. It is a major pest of livestock and responsible for economic losses throughout the Old World. Two chemical lures were tested in the present study to assess their effectiveness at trapping Ch.

Use of wing morphometrics to identify populations of the Old World screwworm fly, Chrysomya bezziana (Diptera: Calliphoridae): a preliminary study of the utility of museum specimens.

The Old World screwworm (OWS) fly, Chrysomya bezziana (Diptera: Calliphoridae), is a major economic and welfare problem for humans and animals in the Old World tropics. Using a bootstrapped log likelihood ratio test of the output of Procrustes principal components and canonical variates analyses for a small sample of museum specimens from which 19 2D wing landmarks had been collected: (1) a consistent and statistically significant difference exists between landmark configurations derived from wings of pinned specimens and those removed from the body and mounted on slides; (2) a highly statistically significant sexual dimorphism in wing morphometry was identified; and (3) a highly statistically significant difference in wing morphometry between populations of the OWS fly from Africa (Tanzania, South Africa Sudan, Zaire, Zimbabwe,) and Asia (Sumba, Indonesia) exists. These results show that wing orientation and gender must be considered when conducting morphometric investigations of OWS fly wings.