Abstract
Two entomopathogenic fungi in the Entomophthora muscae species complex that infect house flies were used in this study: E. muscae Fresenius (16-17 nuclei/conidium) occurred naturally at four southern California dairies, while Entomophthora schizophorae Keller and Wilding (4-8 nuclei/conidium) did not. During the first year of the study, onset of measurable E. muscae infections occurred between September and November but varied among sites. At least 20% of the flies at all four dairies were infected by November, and infection at one site exceeded 70%. During the fall epizootic period, infection levels were inversely related to temperature. Average weekly temperatures higher than 17-20°C and maximum daily temperatures higher than 26-28°C were statistically correlated with low infection levels. In the second year, E. schizophorae was introduced by releasing diseased flies at two dairies (four times at one dairy and three times at the other). E. schizophorae was recovered for a brief time in the house fly population after the first two releases at one site but not at the second site.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 315-323 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Biological Control |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1996 |
Keywords
- Entomophthora muscae
- Entomophthora schizophorae
- Musca domestica
- biological control
- entomopathogenic fungi
- epizootic
- fungal pathogen
- house fly