Longevity, feeding behavior, and egg production of adult house flies (Diptera: Muscidae) provided with potential foods on dairy farms.

Abstract

Adult house flies (Musca domestica L.) are often a major pest at livestock facilities, where oviposition occurs on decomposing organic matter, such as manure. Some potential foods that adult house flies might consume on dairy farms were examined. Relative to when they were given water alone, survival of males and females was greater when they were given water along with liquid whole milk, formulated calf feed, or corn silage, or finely milled sorghum or soy, or buckwheat inflorescences. However, survival was significantly lower with these foods than with sucrose, although not significantly so for males with milk. There was little to no survival advantage when flies were given water along with milled hominy, wet spent brewers grain, or manure than with water alone. Both males and females spent significant time with their labellum in contact with corn silage, dandelion inflorescences, and buckwheat inflorescences, but little time with their labellum contacting manure or white clover inflorescences. Egg production was not increased by access to water along with buckwheat inflorescences or corn silage relative to sucrose; but egg production was increased by access to liquid whole milk. Reaching mature vitellogenesis stages was improved by prior exposure to water and sucrose solution along with a mixture of dry sucrose, milk, and yolk, or along with calf manure or formulated calf feed, but not with milled soy, sorghum, or hominy, or with wet spent brewers grain or citrus pellets. The diet including sucrose-milk-yolk resulted in the most females reaching mature vitellogenesis stages.