Visual responses of Musca domestica to pheromone impregnated targets in poultry units

Citation

Chapman JW, Knapp JJ & Goulson D (1999) Visual responses of Musca domestica to pheromone impregnated targets in poultry units. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 13 (2), pp. 132-138. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2915.1999.00147.x

Abstract
Field trials investigating the effect of visual cues on catches of Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) at toxic targets impregnated with the female sex pheromone (Z)-9-tricosene, were conducted in a caged-layer deep-pit poultry unit in southern England. Targets treated with azamethiphos and baited with 2.5 g of 40% (Z)-9-tricosene impregnated beads caught significantly greater numbers of M. domestica than control targets. The greater attractiveness of the pheromone impregnated targets persisted for at least 5 weeks. The addition of longitudinal black stripes, or a regularly spaced pattern of black spots, to the white targets had no effect on catch rates. However, a pattern of clustered black spots, designed to imitate groups of feeding M. domestica, significantly increased target catches; this effect was particularly pronounced in the targets impregnated with (Z)-9-tricosene. Trials comparing the attractiveness of white and fluorescent yellow pheromone-treated targets under two different lighting regimes indicated that M. domestica does not have a significant preference for either colour. The implications of these results in relation to the control of M. domestica populations in poultry units are discussed.

Keywords
Musca domestica; azamethiphos; control; female sex pheromone; housefly; poultry; sugar bait; targets; tricosene; visual attraction; England

Journal
Medical and Veterinary Entomology: Volume 13, Issue 2