Topical Toxicity and Repellency Profiles of 17 Essential Oil Components against Insecticide-Resistant and Susceptible Strains of Adult Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae).

The house fly is a significant pest in agriculture and human health that is increasingly difficult to manage due to multiple limitations including resistance development. To explore alternative pesticides, the topical toxicity and repellency profiles of 17 essential oil components (EOCs) were evaluated against a resistant and a susceptible strain of house fly, Musca domestica L., using topical application and Y-tube olfactometers, respectively. Six of the most toxic EOCs based on the LD50 were further investigated against a susceptible strain of house fly. Thymol, (+)-pulegone, eugenol, and carvacrol were always the top four most toxic chemicals tested against the resistant house fly strain. Little to no resistance was observed to the top six EOCs based on the comparison of the results between resistant and susceptible house fly strains. P-Cymene, citronellic acid, R-(+)-limonene, linalool, γ-terpinene, estragole, and eugenol were repellent to adult house flies at certain concentrations while (-)-carvone and thymol were attractive to adult house flies. This screening of a wide variety of individual EOCs provides a stronger foundation of information for further research. This should encourage further investigation into the topical toxicity and repellency in field studies, which will provide more insight into the performance of biopesticides for house fly management and potential commercialization.

A push-pull strategy to suppress stable fly (Diptera: Muscidae) attacks on pasture cattle via a coconut oil fatty acid repellent formulation and traps with m-cresol lures.

BACKGROUND: Stable flies [Stomoxys calcitrans (L.)] are economically important pests of cattle and other livestock. As an alternative to conventional insecticides, we tested a push-pull management strategy using a coconut oil fatty acid repellent formulation and an attractant-added stable fly trap. RESULTS: In our field trials we found that weekly applications of a push-pull strategy can reduce stable fly populations on cattle as well as a standard insecticide (permethrin). We also found that the efficacy periods of the push-pull and permethrin treatments following on-animal application were equivalent. Traps with an attractant lure used as the pull component of the push-pull strategy captured sufficient numbers of stable flies to reduce on-animal numbers by an estimated 17-21%. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first proof-of-concept field trial demonstrating the effectiveness of a push-pull strategy using a coconut oil fatty acid-based repellent formulation and traps with an attractant lure to manage stable flies on pasture cattle. Also notable is that the push-pull strategy had an efficacy period equivalent to that of a standard, conventional insecticide under field conditions. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Distribution and abundance of natural parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) populations of house flies and stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae) at the University of Florida Dairy Research Unit

From September 2001 through September 2002, house fly and stable fly pupae were collected weekly from three fly habitats at the University of Florida Research dairy in northcentral Florida and evaluated for parasitism. Varying parasitism percentages were observed throughout the study but they were not affected by temperature, precipitation or fly abundance. Of the 6,222 house fly pupae and 1,660 stable fly pupae that produced either a host fly or a parasitoid, 26.9 percent and 26.7 percent were parasitized, respectively. Ten parasitoid species were recovered, with the genus Spalangia accounting for 85.7 percent of the total; the most common parasitoids attacking house fly and stable fly pupae were Spalangia endius Walker (33.9 percent and 27.3 percent), S. cameroni Perkins (27.9 percent and 40.6 percent), and S. nigroaenea Curtis (21.0 percent and 24.8 percent), respectively. Other parasitoids included one specimen of S. erythromera Fõrster and four specimens of Phygadeuon fumator Gravenhõrst (Ichneumonidae). The percentage parasitism of pupae collected from bunker silos was higher than that of pupae from calf pens and open pastures. Spalangia cameroni was consistently recovered through the entire year. Spalangia nigroaenea was predominant in July, August, and September. Spalangia endius was most active from October to May with a peak of relative abundance in January.

Strategies for controlling house fly populations resistant to cyromazine / Estratégias para o controle de populações de mosca doméstica resistentes à ciromazina

Os objetivos deste estudo foram comparar, dos pontos de vista biológico e econômico, o impacto de várias estratégias de controle e avaliar os seus efeitos sobre a Musca domestica L., resistente à ciromazina, e sobre parasitóides benéficos da pupas de mosca doméstica em aviários (240.000 frangos) na Argentina. As estratégias avaliadas foram: controle químico, controle químico + cultural, e químico+ cultural + biológico (manejo integrado de pragas). Os produtos utilizados foram: ciromazina 1% e 50%, DDVP, azametifós com e sem z-9-tricoseno, calcário, e os parasitóides Spalangia endius Walker e Muscidifurax raptor Girault & Sanders. No caso de ausência de medidas de controle, a densidadepopulacional da mosca aumentou rapidamente e a média de parasitismo foi de 12%. Quando somente o controle químico foi utilizado, as populações de moscas foram reduzidas para 40 por grupo e a média de parasitismo foi de 2%. Quando a ciromazina tópica foi utilizada em conjunto com o controle cultural (calcário), a população de moscas foi reduzida mais rapidamente que nos tratamentos com moscas alimentadas com ciromazina 1%. Com o uso subseqüente de vespas parasitas, altos índices de parasitismo foram observados e a população de mosca doméstica foi reduzida aos níveis de tolerância em tempo menor que em todos os outros tratamentos. Dos pontos de vista biológico e econômico, o melhortratamento para controle de mosca doméstica resistente à ciromazina foi o controle biológico + cultural + químico com aplicações localizadas de ciromazina tópica.

The objectives of this study were to compare, from both biological and economic viewpoints, the impact of various control strategies and evaluate their effect on cyromazine-resistantMusca domestica L., and beneficial house fly pupal parasitoids on caged-layer farms (240,000 hens) in Argentina. The strategies evaluated were: chemical, chemical + cultural, and chemical + cultural + biological (integrated management). The products used were: cyromazine 1% and 50%, DDVP, azamethiphos with and without z-9-tricosene, lime, and the parasitoids Spalangia endius Walker and Muscidifurax raptor Girault & Sanders. In the absence of control measures, fly density increased quickly and the average parasitism rate was 12%. When only chemical control was used, fly populations were reduced to ca. 40/grid and parasitism averaged 2%. When topical cyromazine was used in conjunction with cultural control (lime), fly populations were reduced more rapidly than those treated with cyromazine 1% feed-through. With the subsequent use of parasitic wasps, high parasitism levels were observed andhouse flies were reduced to tolerance levels in the shortest time. From an economic and biological point of view, the best treatment for house flies resistant to cyromazine was biological + cultural + chemical with localized applications of topical cyromazine.