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Flight as a factor in the host-finding behaviour of tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

G. A. Vale
Affiliation:
Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Control Branch, Department of Veterinary Services, P.O. Box 8283, Causeway, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The numbers of Glossina pallidipes Aust. and G. morsitans morsitans Westw. flying in and out of a large clearing in Zimbabwe were estimated from catches on unbaited electrified nets placed on the perimeter of the clearing. By estimating the numbers of flies that would encounter visual and olfactory attractants in the middle of the clearing, and from measurements of the numbers caught responding and estimates of the efficiency with which responding flies were caught, it was calculated that 80–100% of flying tsetse responded to stimuli they encountered. The importance of flight as a means of encountering host stimuli in woodland and open areas, and with mobile and stationary baits, is discussed.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

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