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Insects
Special Issues
Flies of Veterinary Importance: Biology, Ecology and Control
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Flies of Veterinary Importance: Biology, Ecology and Control

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 2022

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jerome A Hogsette

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Gainesville, FL, USA
Interests: stable flies; attraction; trapping; dispersal; repellents; host protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cassandra Olds

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
Interests: arthropod–host interactions; filth flies; vector-borne pathogen transmission

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biting flies cause problems wherever they occur. Their blood-feeding behavior can be painful; moreover, pathogens can be transmitted during the feeding process. Waste materials from crops provide the necessary substrates for producing catastrophic populations of stable flies, e.g., from pineapples in Costa Rica and sugarcane in Brazil. Warmer temperatures have allowed biting flies to live in locations where they were formerly rare or unknown, and the seasonality of the species has changed in their native range. This has been observed in Southern Europe for phlebotomine sand flies and horse flies, among others.

When a biting fly species expands its range and increases its presence, biting and transmission activity increase. The aim of this Special Issue is to publish a series of papers on a variety of topics pertaining to biting flies. Without being limited to these topics, papers may include trapping and surveillance, repellents, novel management techniques, and the biology of and relationships between biting flies and pathogens. Other topics should be sent to the journal for review, and the occasional mosquito paper will be considered as well.

Dr. Jerome A Hogsette
Dr. Cassandra Olds
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biting fly and host interactions
  • improved attractants
  • dispersal
  • biting fly and pathogen relationships
  • management of immature populations
  • damage thresholds in domestic animals
  • biting fly physiology and genetics

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4717 KiB  
Article
An Integrated Pest Management Strategy Approach for the Management of the Stable Fly Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae)
by Mikel A. González, Gérard Duvallet, Damien Morel, Ignacio de Blas, Elena Barrio and Ignacio Ruiz-Arrondo
Insects 2024, 15(4), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15040222 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 742
Abstract
Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans, stand as formidable pests with a global impact, inflicting significant economic losses on the livestock sector. Larval development occurs in diverse substrates, including decomposing plant material and manure, while emerged adults pose a threat through blood-feeding on both [...] Read more.
Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans, stand as formidable pests with a global impact, inflicting significant economic losses on the livestock sector. Larval development occurs in diverse substrates, including decomposing plant material and manure, while emerged adults pose a threat through blood-feeding on both animals and humans. Conventional chemical control methods, predominantly reliant on insecticides, not only pose environmental risks but also face challenges of resistance among stable fly populations. To address this pressing issue, we propose an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy for stable fly control. This approach involved a combination of sanitary-cultural practices, animal protection, the release of natural enemies targeting immature stages, and a specialized trapping system for adults. The Stomoxycc® trap, designed for mass trapping of adult Stomoxys, was employed alongside the release of the predatory mite Macrocheles robustulus and two wasp parasitoids, Spalangia cameroni and Muscidifurax raptor (under the commercial brands Biomite® and Biowasp®) on animal bedding as a key component of this IPM strategy. The implementation of this initiative has been undertaken at a significant sanctuary for donkeys and mules in western Spain. In this publication, we present the application and results of the IPM strategy utilized and provide insights into its use as a sustainable and environmentally friendly option for controlling stable fly populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flies of Veterinary Importance: Biology, Ecology and Control)
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14 pages, 3164 KiB  
Article
Culicoides-Specific Fitness Increase of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus in Insect-to-Insect Infections
by Paula Rozo-Lopez and Barbara S. Drolet
Insects 2024, 15(1), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15010034 - 05 Jan 2024
Viewed by 852
Abstract
Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is an arthropod-borne virus affecting livestock. In the United States, sporadic outbreaks result in significant economic losses. During epizootics, Culicoides biting midges are biological vectors and key to the geographic expansion of outbreaks. Additionally, Culicoides may play a role [...] Read more.
Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is an arthropod-borne virus affecting livestock. In the United States, sporadic outbreaks result in significant economic losses. During epizootics, Culicoides biting midges are biological vectors and key to the geographic expansion of outbreaks. Additionally, Culicoides may play a role in VSV overwintering because females and males are capable of highly efficient venereal transmission, despite their relatively low virus titers. We hypothesized that VSV propagated within a midge has increased fitness for subsequent midge infections. To evaluate the potential host-specific fitness increase, we propagated three viral isolates of VSV in porcine skin fibroblasts and Culicoides cell lines. We then evaluated the viral infection dynamics of the different cell-source groups in Culicoides sonorensis. Our results indicate that both mammalian- and insect-derived VSV replicate well in midges inoculated via intrathoracic injection, thereby bypassing the midgut barriers. However, when the virus was required to infect and escape the midgut barrier to disseminate after oral acquisition, the insect-derived viruses had significantly higher titers, infection, and dissemination rates than mammalian-derived viruses. Our research suggests that VSV replication in Culicoides cells increases viral fitness, facilitating midge-to-midge transmission and subsequent replication, and further highlights the significance of Culicoides midges in VSV maintenance and transmission dynamics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flies of Veterinary Importance: Biology, Ecology and Control)
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