Stable fly

Physical features

The stable fly resembles the common housefly (Musca domestica), though smaller, and on closer examination has a slightly wider and spotted abdomen. Adults are generally about 6 - in length and a lighter color than the housefly. Unlike the housefly, where the mouth part is adapted for sponging, the stable fly mouth parts have biting structures. An additional distinction from M. domestica is in the aristae, which bear a single, superior row of hairs in S. calcitrans instead of two opposing rows.

Habitat

As its name suggests, the stable fly is abundant in and around where cattle are kept. Its maggots are often seen in the rotting manure near cattle and poultry. It also occurs in coastal areas where larvae may inhabit masses of decaying aquatic vegetation deposited ashore.

Biology

The earliest and one of the most comprehensive accounts of stable fly biology was presented by F. Bishopp in 1913. The adults of both sexes feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals during the daytime. For egg production, the female requires its abdomen to be engorged with blood. The female takes approximately 2–5 minutes to engorge, after which it becomes sluggish for a while. The eggs are laid among putrefying organic materials such as hay, manure, and wood. Males usually die after mating and the females after laying eggs. The life cycle has a duration of about two weeks at temperatures around 27 °C. The duration is highly dependent on temperature and nutrient quality available for the larvae. Bishopp (1913) noted that the larvae can endure for more than 30 days in less nutritious environs.

Economic impact

Cattle heavily infested with stable flies have been noted to become anemic and milking cows have been observed to show lower milk production. The stable fly bites humans at rest in the outdoors. In many parts of the world, the species is a carrier of trypanosomid parasites. Some of the reported parasites and diseases for which the stable fly might be a vector include Trypanosoma evansi (the agent of Surra), Trypanosoma brucei, brucellosis, equine infectious anemia, African horse sickness (AHS), Lumpy skin disease (LSD) and fowlpox. S. calcitrans is also reported to be a vector of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. Stomoxys calcitrans-sucking blood.jpg|Sucking human blood

References

References

1. Talley, Justin L.. (2008). "Stable fly biology and control in cattle feedlots". Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
2. Bishopp, F.C.. (1913). "The Stable Fly (Stomoxys caclitrans L.) An Important Live Stock Pest". Journal of Economic Entomology.
3. (2020). "''Stomoxys calcitrans''". Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
4. "Veterinary Entomology". Entomology.cornell.edu.
5. Dadour, Ian. "Stable Fly- Farmnote 101/1994". Government of Western Australia.
6. Service, Mike. (2012). "Medical Entomology for Students". Cambridge University Press.
7. (1999). "Stable fly, house fly (Diptera: Muscidae), and other nuisance fly development in poultry litter associated with horticultural crop production". Journal of Economic Entomology.
8. (1997). "Calculating Economic Injury Levels for Stable Flies (Diptera: Muscida) on Feeding Heifers". Journal of Economic Entomology.
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10. (July 22, 1995). "Spread of Lumpy Skin Disease in Israeli Dairy Herds". The Veterinary Record.
11. Newberry, Jennifer. (2005-02-22). "ADW: Stomoxys calcitrans: INFORMATION". Animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu.
12. (2013). "Transmission of pathogens by ''Stomoxys'' flies (Diptera, Muscidae): A review". Parasite.
13. (2008). "Risk Factors Associated with Anthrax Outbreak in Animals in North Dakota, 2005: A Retrospective Case-Control Study". Public Health Reports.
14. (1987). "Mechanical transmission of Bacillus anthracis by stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) and mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes taeniorhynchus)". Infection and Immunity.