Flies Flashcards
What are the 2 suborders of diptera?
- Brachycera (short antennae)
- Nematocera (long antennae)
What are the direct effects of flies?
- Bites and allergies
- Botflies
- Myiasis causing flies (fly strike)
What are the indirect effects of flies?
Transmission of infections
Name the 4 families of nematocera
- Simulidae
- Culicidae
- Ceratopogonidae
- Psychodidae
Describe the typical life cycle of Nematocera
- Holometabolomes
- Aquatic life cycle
- Eggs laid (near water)
- 4 larval stages (point into water)
- Pupate
- Hatch
- Mating
- Female requires blood meal for egg production
Name the families of Brachycera
- Muscidae
- tabanidae
- Hippoboscidae
- Glossinidae
- Oestridae
- Sarcophagidae
- Calliphoridae
What is the difference between the life cycles of Nematocera and Brachycera?
Brachycera not usually aquatic life cyces, Nematocera require water
Name common species of Muscidae
- House flies: Musca domesitica, M. autumnalis
- Head flies: Hydrotaea irritans
- Stable fly: Stomoxys calcitrans
- Horn flies: Haematobia irritans
Which of the Muscidae are blood feeders?
- Stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans)
- Horn flies (Haematobia irritans)
Describe Hydrotaea irritans
- Sheep head fly
- Feed on secretions from eyes, nose and debris at horn base
- Feeding causes irritation, scratching resultin in wounds
Describe Haematoba irritans
- Horn flies
- Take blood meal
- most often from cattle
- Painful bites
- Exonomically importnat
Describe the role of Muscidae as vectors of infection
- Spread bacteria into eyes and wounds
- Pinkeye (Moraxella bovis infection)
- Summer mastitis (though to be by head fly)
- Can also transmit faecal pathogens e.g. Salmonella and Campylobacter among chickens and people
Describe the Tabanidae family
- Brachycera
- Horseflies (Tabanus)
- Deer flies (Haematopota)
- Clegs (Chrysops spp)
- large biting flies
- Diurnal, strong fliers
- Prevent feeding, highly irritant, mechanical vector
What is the most common tabanid in the UK?
Haematopota pluvalis
Describe the feeding of tabanids
- Females bite and drink blood
- Large saw-like mouth parts
Describe the life cycle of tabanids
- Eggs laid on stems of plants
- Larvae live in wet mud or may be completely aquatic
- Require several months to complete life cycle
Descibe the Tsetse fly
- Genus Glossina
- Sub-saharan Africa
- Viviparous
- Vectors of parasitic protozoa
Describe the reproduction of the Tsetse fly
- Viviparous
- Eggs inside female, hatch within then emerge
- Are not deposited until ready to pupate
- Holometabolous life cycle
Describe the life cycle of trypanosomes with relation to the Tsetse fly
- Fly takes blood meal, ingests protozoan
- Protozoan replicates by binary fission in mid-gut of fly
- Transforms into infective stage
- Enters salivary glands and multiplies
- Fly takes blood meal and injects into the bloodstream
- Multiplies by binary fission in blood, lymph and spinal fluid
Describe Simuliidae
- Nematocera
- 1-5mm
- Humped thorax
- Diurnal
- Bite in grey, warm weather
- Transmit infectious diseases
- Aka black flies
- Simulium is most important genus
- Eggs and larvae oxygenated, fast flowing water
- Irritant and pest
Describe the feeding habits of adult Simuliidae
- Adult males: nectar
- Adult females: blood from wide range of vertebrates
Describe mosquitoes
- Culicidae, Nematocera
- 2-10mm
- Slender, long legs, adult females have long proboscis
- Crepuscular/nocturnal
- Poor fliers
- Transmit infectious diseases
- 2 main groups
Give examples of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes
- Plasmodium (malaria)
- Dirofilaria immitis
- Various viruses (e.g. West Nile virus, Myxomatosis, avian poxvirus, equine encephalitis virus, equine infectious anaemia virus)
Outline methods of transmission of diseases by mosquitoes
- Can act as intermediate host/definitive host or mechanical vector
- Vertical transmission between mosquitoes also possible
What are the 2 main groups of mosquito?
- Anopheline (e.g. Aedes spp.)
- Culicine (e.g. Culex spp.)
Describe mosquito breeding
- Aquatic areas
- Eggs laid on water or moist ground
- Larval stages live in still ponds, water butts etc
- Culicine larvae hang down
- Anopheline lay parallel with surface water
Describe feeding in mosquitoes
- Adults drink nectar
- Female has to have blood meal before laying eggs