The Effects of Temperature and Moisture on Survival of the Immature Stages of the Buffalo Fly, Haematobia Irritans Exigua De Meijere (Diptera: Muscidae).

Abstract

The effects of temperature and moisture regimes on the survival of immature stages of the buffalo fly were measured. Eggs require high relative humidities to hatch. In saturated air, they failed to hatch at below ll.5°C and above 40° C, hatch rates being maximal between 20 and 35° C. In a two-way experiment, larvae survived treatments in which dung moisture content was greater than 63% of wet weight, and dung temperature below 37.5° C. Optimum larval survival was at approximately 25° C and 75-85% dung moisture content by dry weight. In saturated air, adults eclosed at from 17.5 to 35° C. At 25° C. eclosion occurred at relative humidities above 31%, but was greatly reduced at lower RHS