EFFECTS OF ALTOSID AND DIMILIN ON BLACK FLIES (DIPTERA: SIMULIIDAE): LABORATORY AND FIELD TESTS

1978 ◽  
Vol 110 (10) ◽  
pp. 1103-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. McKague ◽  
R. B. Pridmore ◽  
P. M. Wood

AbstractAdult emergence of Simulium verecundum S. and J. and S. decorum Walk. was reduced 58–94% by exposure of late instar larvae to 0.1 ppm Altosid or Altosid SR-10 for 1 h. Pupae were not affected by the presence of 0.1 ppm Altosid SR-10 in the rearing water. Adult emergence of S. verecundum was reduced 95% when mixed larval instars were reared in the presence of 0.001 ppm Dimilin. Last instar larvae died as a result of abnormal metamorphosis. Black fly mortality was 86–100% with 1-h exposures to 0 1–0.2 ppm Dimilin, and 100% with a 15-min exposure to 1 ppm at 22 ± 2 °C, lower temperatures giving similar results.Release of Altosid over a 48-h period from formulated blocks gave a concentration of 0.002–0.006 ppm in a small stream. Emergence of adults was completely suppressed for 23 days 18 m downstream and 17 days 43 m downstream. Applications of 1 ppm Dimilin for 15 min to two streams resulted in the gradual elimination of black fly larvae from artificial substrates, a high reduction in adult emergence, and the formation of abnormal larvae following the tests. The maximum concentration of Dimilin detected in the water was 0.31 ppm during application; however, submerged vegetation residues as high as 18.9 ppm were found 1 h following the second application, decreasing to less than 0.05 ppm 14 days later.

1981 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Westwood ◽  
R. A. Brust

AbstractTen species of black flies were collected from the Souris River, Manitoba between April 1977 and October 1978. Adults of Simulium luggeri Nicholson and Mickel, Simulium meridionale Riley, Simulium venustum Say, Simulium verecundum Stone and Jamnback, and Simulium johannseni johannseni (Hart) were collected feeding on livestock and humans, and are well known pest species. Simulium vittatum Zetterstedt was the most abundant species, but was not a pest on man or domestic animals. Simulium tuberosum (Lundström) and Simulium johannseni duplex Shewell and Fredeen were the least abundant species. Simulium j. johannseni, S. j. duplex, S. venustum, S. verecundum, S. tuberosum, and Cnephia dacotensis (Dyar and Shannon) appeared to be univoltine species while S. luggeri, S. meridionale, Simulium decorum Walker, and S. vittatum were multivoltine in the Souris River.An evaluation of cone, plate, rope, and wire cage sampling devices for black fly larvae and pupae indicated that cone samplers provided a more representative sample for population assessment.In a black fly control program, of the Souris River, Manitoba two separate larvicide treatments in spring may be necessary. In the case of two treatments, the first should be aimed at late instar larvae of S. j. johannseni, S. venustum, and S. verecundum. Since the majority of S. luggeri and S. meridionale would be in the egg stage at this time, a second treatment, 10–14 days later, would be necessary to control late instar larvae of these species.


1984 ◽  
Vol 116 (8) ◽  
pp. 1085-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Colbo ◽  
H. O'Brien

AbstractA pilot black fly control program using Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis on a small stream system near St. John's, Newfoundland resulted in a 70% or greater population reduction of adult black flies from the previous year. The species present in the system were Prosimulium mixtum, Stegopterna mutata, Eusimulium vernum, Simulium tuberosum, S. venustum/verecundum complex, and S. vittatum. The formulation used was Teknar® flowable concentrate (Sandoz Inc.) rated at 600 ITU/mg which proved effective against the larval stages of all black fly species at a dose of 10 ppm for 1 min. The results indicated that this agent will be effective if applied at the appropriate locations and times. The 1-min dose was practical except in very cold water (0°–7 °C) where a 5-min or longer dose may be required. The unpredictable relief pattern of the northern streams resulted in a highly variable downstream carry for the B.t.i. Therefore application sites must be determined by a stream survey and not just from discharge characteristics.


2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (10) ◽  
pp. 1198-1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Sharp ◽  
F. F. Hunter

Mermithid nematodes (Nematoda: Mermithidae) parasitize larval, pupal, and adult black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) and may result in the development of intersex adults, generally considered to be feminized males. Simuliid gonad morphology and meiotic chromosome condition were examined in both early-instar larvae and late-instar larvae (≈ pharate pupae) to determine the developmental stage at which mermithid-associated feminization was initiated. We found that feminization occurred in early-instar larvae prior to gill histoblast formation. Infected larvae were morphologically male (rounded testes present) or female (elongated ovaries present), with morphological males exhibiting either male (achiasmate) or female (chiasmate) meiotic chromosomes; morphological females only had chiasmate chromosomes. Mermithid infection can also inhibit simuliid gonad development completely.


1975 ◽  
Vol 107 (11) ◽  
pp. 1211-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Dove ◽  
A. B. McKague

AbstractAdult emergence of Simulium verecundum was reduced 75 to 100% by 0 001 to 0.1 ppm Altosid SR–10 at 25 ± 3 °C and 10 °C. No reduction in adult emergence was observed with 0.0001 ppm Altosid SR–10. 0.1 ppm of the granular R–20458 4–G reduced adult emergence 56 to 98% whereas 0.02 ppm was not effective. Exposure of black fly larvae to 0.1 ppm R–20458 4–G for 24 h gave a maximum of 50% reduction in adult emergence of those flies which had not pupated during the 24-h period.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-310
Author(s):  
Michael C. Cavallaro ◽  
Eric Risley ◽  
Paige Lockburner

ABSTRACT Sentinel surveillance systems demonstrate an improved ability to supplement monitoring data and anticipate arbovirus outbreaks (i.e., sentinel avian species). Management complications can arise during unpredictable or unseasonal disease detections, especially in rural areas where resident distribution is patchy. Using spillways near residential lake communities as static surveillance locations, we tested a novel partially submerged sticky trapping technique and screened wild populations of adult female black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) for West Nile virus (WNV) and eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV). Trap site selection criteria considered the density of immature black fly colonization on spillway surfaces and the number of positive detections of arboviral targets in nearby Culex mosquito populations. On average (±standard error), sticky traps captured 134 (±33) adult black flies over a 24-h period, with 1 trap capturing as many as 735 individuals. Although we detected positive cases of WNV from 20 Culex mosquito trapping sites within 16 km (approx. flight radius) of the selected lake spillways, mixed pools of adult female Simulium vittatum complex and Simulium decorum were all negative for both arboviruses. This study yielded an application for partially submerged sticky traps to collect adult female black flies. Its potential uses for monitoring the infection rates of more well-documented Simulium parasites are discussed.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1264
Author(s):  
Katherine I. Young ◽  
Federico Valdez ◽  
Christina Vaquera ◽  
Carlos Campos ◽  
Lawrence Zhou ◽  
...  

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) emerges periodically from its focus of endemic transmission in southern Mexico to cause epizootics in livestock in the US. The ecology of VSV involves a diverse, but largely undefined, repertoire of potential reservoir hosts and invertebrate vectors. As part of a larger program to decipher VSV transmission, we conducted a study of the spatiotemporal dynamics of Simulium black flies, a known vector of VSV, along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, USA from March to December 2020. Serendipitously, the index case of VSV-Indiana (VSIV) in the USA in 2020 occurred at a central point of our study. Black flies appeared soon after the release of the Rio Grande’s water from an upstream dam in March 2020. Two-month and one-year lagged precipitation, maximum temperature, and vegetation greenness, measured as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), were associated with increased black fly abundance. We detected VSIV RNA in 11 pools comprising five black fly species using rRT-PCR; five pools yielded a VSIV sequence. To our knowledge, this is the first detection of VSV in the western US from vectors that were not collected on premises with infected domestic animals.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 220-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. King ◽  
Patrick C. McKann ◽  
Brian R. Gray ◽  
Michael S. Putnam

Abstract The whooping crane Grus americana has a long conservation history, but despite multiple attempts across North America, introduction success is lacking. Recently introduced, captively reared whooping cranes have had periods of poor reproductive performance in central Wisconsin that sometimes coincided with black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) emergences. Sandhill crane Grus canadensis reproductive performance in central Wisconsin is approximately double that of whooping cranes. We used comfort behaviors as a measure of black fly harassment to infer whether behavioral differences existed between nesting sandhill cranes and nesting whooping cranes and between successful and unsuccessful whooping crane pairs. To further explore the interaction between black flies and incubating whooping cranes, we examined differences in behaviors between incubating birds and their off-nest mates. Compared to their off-nest mates, incubating whooping cranes exhibited elevated comfort behaviors, suggesting a bird at a nest may experience greater harassment from black flies. Sandhill cranes had elevated head-flicks over whooping cranes. Whooping cranes exhibited more head-rubs than sandhill cranes, and successful whooping crane pairs had elevated head-rubs over pairs that deserted their nests. Behavioral differences between sandhill cranes and whooping cranes as well as differences in reproductive performance, could be explained by exposure to local breeding conditions. Whereas sandhill cranes have nested in the area for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, whooping cranes were only recently introduced to the area. Behavioral differences between the species as well as those between successful and unsuccessful whooping crane pairs could also be explained by the effect of captive exposure, which could affect all whooping crane introductions.


1973 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Cumming ◽  
B. McKague

AbstractBreeding sites for Simulium venustum, Simulium arcticum, Simulium pugetense, Simulium hunteri, Simulium canadense, and Simulium decorum were found in the Vancouver area. Addition of juvenile hormone analogues to the rearing water of S. decorum resulted in virtually complete inhibition of adult emergence.


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4311 (3) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
DOUGLAS A. CRAIG ◽  
NEAL L. EVENHUIS

Aspects of the body of work on the Central and Western Pacific black fly Simulium (Inseliellum) are briefly reviewed. Female adults collected from beaches in Tahiti and Raiatea are described as Simulium (Inseliellum) littopyga n. sp., Simulium (Inseliellum) littosocius n. sp. and Simulium (Inseliellum) littosodalis n. sp.. Immature stages of the three species are not associated. 


1974 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. McKague ◽  
P. M. Wood

AbstractAdult emergence of Simulium decorum and Simulium tuberosum was reduced or completely inhibited in air-agitated stream water by 0.1 p.p.m. slow release formulations of insect growth regulators. Abnormal pupae were produced when S. decorum larvae were exposed to 5 p.p.m. R20458-4E.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document