Investigation of the Factors Affecting Adult Fly Production in Biosolid Cake

Abstract

The seasonal pattern of adult fly production in both fresh and aged biosolid cake was established by the exposure of biosolid cake to natural conditions in the central coastal region of Perth, Western Australia, over the course of a year. Relationships between fly emergence and six factors (weeks exposed, pH, NH(4), rainfall, temperature, and moisture) suspected of facilitating the attraction of adult flies to biosolid cake were measured. The aim was to study the production of adult flies with regard to weeks exposed in different seasons to establish a "best practice" storage procedure for aged biosolid cake. Four fly species were collected during the study; Musca domestica L. (house fly), Stomoxys calcitrans L. (stable fly), Fannia canicularis L. (lesser house fly), and Muscina stabulans (Fallén) (false stable fly). Of the 5,303 flies identified, >97% of these were either M. domestica or S. calcitrans. Adult flies emerged from biosolid cake all year round with a sharp decline in winter. The number of emerged flies peaked in summer (3,163 flies) and declined during autumn (1,545 flies) and spring (532 flies). Significant positive relationships were observed between the number of adult flies emerging from biosolid cake and ambient temperature, NH(4) content, and weeks exposed. Higher ambient temperatures and a higher NH(4) content of the biosolid cake were associated with increased number of adult flies emerging from the biosolid cake. Similarly, the majority of flies emerged from biosolid cake in the first 10 wk of exposure to fly activity.

Dewatered Sewage Biosolids Provide a Productive Larval Habitat for Stable Flies and House Flies (Diptera: Muscidae)

“…Interestingly, precipitation had little effect. These results are consistent with the previous study of ßy development in biosolid cake (Dadour and Voss 2009). The lack of effect from rainfall suggests that the biosolids retain sufÞcient moisture to support larval development and additional moisture from precipitation is not necessary to maintain or enhance their suitability.…”

“…Although this could be attributed to differences in both oviposition and larval developmental time, house ßies have been observed to develop in fresh cattle manure where stable ßies consistently prefer aged manure (Meyer and Peterson 1983, Skoda et al 1991, Broce and Haas 1999, Romero et al 2006). Further, Dadour and Voss (2009) found that the greatest amount of stable ßies emerged from 2 to 4 wk aged biosolids.…”

“…These two species also predominated in a study of biosolids in Australia (Dadour and Voss 2009); however, house ßies were more abundant representing 58% of the total. The higher abundance of stable ßies in our study may be the result of movement of ßies from a cattle feedlot located Ϸ2 km from the site, well within the dispersal range of stable ßies (Jones et al 1999, Taylor et al 2010).…”

Production de masse de larves de <i>Musca domestica</i> L. (Diptera : Muscidae) pour l’aviculture au Burkina Faso : Analyse des facteurs déterminants en oviposition naturelle

“…Des prospections écologiques réalisées en Thaïlande parNgoen-klan et al (2011) indiquent que les populations adultes de M. domestica et de C. megacephala F. sont plus abondantes en saison pluvieuse et moins abondantes en saison sèche et en période froide. Des observations similaires ont été aussi faites au Mexique par Cruz-Vázquez et al(2004)sur la dynamique de Stomoxys calcitrans, une mouche Muscidae très proche de la mouche domestique Dadour & Voss (2009). en Australie ont aussi indiqué que le niveau d'ammonium dans l'air ambiant qui est fonction des saisons pouvait influencer la dynamique des imagos.…”