ARS | Publication request: Effect of biogenic amines on the mating and egg-laying behaviors in the stable fly

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 31, 2011
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The stable fly Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most significant biting fly pests affecting livestock.The annual economic damage to the U.S. cattle industry is estimated at over one billion US dollars. Biogenic amines are known to play critical roles in feeding and reproductive behaviors of some insect species. However, the effects of biogenic amines mating and egg-laying behaviors have not been investigated in the stable fly. A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of reserpine, a biogenic amine depleting reagent, on male mating success and female ovipositon and egg-hatching. Reserpine treatment of male stable flies led to significant reduction in mating success, and treatment of females resulted in reduced oviposition rate significantly. Results of the immunohistological experiments confirm that the observed behavioral changes after reserpine treatment were caused by depletion of serotonin and possibly also other biogenic amines in the fly’s central nervous system and reproductive tissues. Understanding of the crucial roles of biogenic amines in the stable fly’s reproductive behaviors could help discover novel control targets to develop insecticides with new modes of action including behavior-modifying compounds.