Journal
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
Volume 38, Issue 2, Pages 180-187Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1603/0022-2585-38.2.180
Keywords
Hematobia irritans; cattle manure; bacteria; larval survival; pupal weight; reproductive index
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Twenty species of bacteria were isolated from cattle manure and seven species were isolated from the gut of larval horn fly Hematobia irritans (L.). Bacteria in manure belonged to the Bacillaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Micrococcaceae, Corynebacteriaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Microbacteriaceae, and two unassigned genera. Gut bacteria belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae, Bacillaceae, Neisseriaceae, and Pseudomonadaceae. H. irritans larval survival and growth on the various bacterial species were evaluated by rearing larvae in sterilized cattle manure that was inoculated with single bacterial isolates. H, irritans larvae failed to develop in sterilized, uninoculated manure, indicating that bacteria are necessary for larval development. Survival averaged 74% in nonsterilized manure and ranged from 4 to 53% in manure with individual isolates. Survival was highest when larvae were reared on manure inoculated with Pseudomonadaceae, Corynebacteriaceae, Micrococcaceae, and Bacillaceae and was lowest when reared in manure inoculated with Enterobacteriaceae and Microbacteriaceae. Pupal weights were heaviest when reared on the Flavobacteria, followed by the Pseudomonadaceae and Corynebacteriaceae, Pupae averaged 4.9 +/- 0.08 mg when reared on gram-negative isolates, compared with 3.6 +/- 0.09 mg when reared on grampositive isolates. Pupal weights were not significantly correlated with larval survival, indicating that bacteria that promote growth do not necessarily promote survival. A reproductive index was used as a measure of fitness and was highest for larvae reared in the nonsterile control, followed most closely by Pseudomonadaceae and Corynebacteriaceae. These groups appeared to Lest meet the nutritional requirements of larvae and may be used in further experiments to define an artificial rearing media for H. irritans.
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