Livestock Bedding Effects on Two Species of Parasitoid Wasps of Filth Flies

Abstract

Choice of livestock bedding has been shown to affect density of filth fly maggots. Here, laboratory experiments indicate that bedding type can also affect natural enemies of the flies, specifically the parasitoid wasps Spalangia endius Walker and Urolepis rufipes (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) parasitizing a natural host, the house fly Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae) . For both parasitoid species, when females parasitized hosts under bedding, cedar shavings resulted in fewer parasitoids compared with pine shavings, but pine shavings did not differ from wood pellets and corn cob pellets. In the absence of exposure to hosts, longevity of adult females was reduced in cedar shavings compared with pine shavings and pellets. In contrast to the effects on parasitization and on adult survival, shavings treatment had no significant effect on the number of parasitoids or flies that emerged when hosts were not exposed to shavings until after parasitization.

Sublethal effects of imidacloprid exposure on Spalangia endius, a pupal parasitoid of filth flies

“…The S. endius and the M. domestica were from laboratory colonies that had not been exposed to pesticides since colony establishment. The M. domestica were reared on a mixture of fly larva medium (Lab Diet, St. Louis, MO; http://www.labdiet.com, accessed 26 April 2015), pine shavings, fish meal, and water (King et al 2014). Once the larvae finished feeding, they crawled out of their media box into a larger clean box underneath and pupated, allowing easy collection of fly pupae.…”

Effects of livestock on arthropod biodiversity in Iberian Holm oak savannas revealed by metabarcoding

“…Moreover, the negative effects of livestock go beyond phytophagous arthropods and extend to predators and parasitoid species, which may also be incidentally predated by livestock albeit at lower rates than herbivores (Berman & Inbar, 2022). Predatory arthropods also suffer the scarcity of prey (phytophagous invertebrates) due to livestock grazing (King et al, 2014;Prieto-Benitez & Mendez, 2011).…”

10. Public-private partnership enabled use of anti-tick vaccine for integrated cattle fever tick eradication in the USA

“…S. cameroni was found to be effective at locating and parasitizing house fly hosts that had pupated in soiled shavings from an equine farm (Pitzer et al 2011b), as well as other common equine-generated substrates (Machtinger and Geden 2013). The type and degree of compaction of bedding types may also influence the ability of parasitoids to locate hosts, even in species that are intrinsically prone to searching deeper in host habitats King et al 2014).…”