Procedures are described for rearing Haemarobia irrirans exigua using a bull as host for the adult flies and an artificial medium for rearing the larvae.The buffalo fly, Haematobia irritans exigua de Meijere, is morphologically very similar to the horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans (L.), yet it has not been colonised successfully. Attempts to colonise the hornfly were first reported by Glaser (1923Glaser ( , 1924. Depner (1962) maintained adult flies on cattle in screened cages and reared the larvae in cattle faeces. Harris (1962) maintained a colony of horn flies that reproduced without contact with a host animal and subsequently, Bay and Harris (1978) reported that they had maintained a colony in the laboratory for 3 years. Mass rearing of horn flies was undertaken by Miller et a/. (1979).In 1979 we attempted to rear H. irritans exigua in order to provide a supply of standard-age flies to evaluate the persistency of chemicals on treated cattle. All horn fly rearing methods proved unsuccessful. The buffalo fly rearing system reported here separates the feeding flies and the breeding cycle completely.A young Polled Hereford bull was kept in a totally enclosed pen (2 x 2.5 x 3.5 m) with a steel mesh floor supported ca 0.3 m above a slopingconcrete floor. All daylight was excluded since natural light attracts the flies. A darkened entrance helped to reduce the loss of buffalo flies and the entry of unwanted insects. Continuous lighting was provided by a 40 watt fluorescent tube with a light-diffusingcover cuO.25 m above the bull. Temperature was maintained above 26°C (30°C max) using a small thermostaticallycontrolled fan heater. The pen was continually ventilated using an extractor fan which removed ammonia generated from the bull urine. When ammonia was present flies rested on the ceiling instead of resting on the bull. Humidity was kept high by flushing the floor with water frequentlyduring theday. All dung was hosed away twiceeach day.The bull, which was confined to 1 side of the pen by rails and tethered slackly, had continuous access to fresh water and lucerne chaff supplemented once a day with cattle pellets. The bull was groomed regularly with a wire brush to remove scurf, small scabs and fly excreta. Continuous exposure ca 10 OOO flies was tolerated well for periods exceeding I month.Initially ca 10 OOO flies were caught off yarded cattle using a collecting net and used to stock the pen.Caught flies were transported to the laboratory in cages (8 x 8 x 8 cm) made from plasticcoated wire covered with a nylon stocking. Wet cloths or moistened sponges were placed below and over the cage to maintain high humidity. If humidity was low most flies died within 30 minutes.
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