Location: Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit
Project Number: 3094-10400-001-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Oct 1, 2024
End Date: Sep 30, 2029
Objective:
Objective 1: Develop and improve surveillance and monitoring methods for biting fly and New World screwworm populations to enhance delivery of control technologies effectively.
Objective 2: Exploit insect biology, behavior, and ecology to improve management and control of biting flies and New World screwworm including novel pesticides, cultural control practices, repellants, attractants, and genetic approaches.
Objective 3: Define the impact of changing climate variables on the behavior, ecology, and dispersal of livestock dipteran pests in order to improve fly IPM programs.
Approach:
Muscid and calliphorid pests of livestock are of veterinary, medical, and economic importance worldwide, negatively impacting livestock production efficiency and human and animal health and collectively costing > US $6 billion annually to producers. The overall goal of our project is to develop management tools and control approaches that benefit producers and the public as they combat these pests. Stable and horn flies have traditionally been managed by insecticide application, but development of chemical resistance and a desire for environmentally conscious approaches prompted a shift in our research emphasis towards more sustainable tactics. We will use a multi-disciplinary approach to improve control strategies based on behavior modification, to refine our understanding of fly genetic variability as it relates to control, and to continue identifying targets for developing species-selective control technologies. The New World screwworm (NWS) remains a major focus of our project. Its distribution in the Caribbean and South America is maintained at the Panama-Colombia border by a permanent barrier intended to prevent NWS re-introduction northward. The programmatic release of sterile NWS is a vital component to barrier maintenance. However, extensive outbreaks north of the barrier are of immediate concern, and the bi-national commission that manages the permanent barrier desires tools that enhance outbreak prevention and population suppression. Our project aims to ensure optimal fitness of NWS flies produced for sterile releases and to develop enhanced traps for use in management programs. Undoubtedly, the impact of changing climatic variables on fly behavior, distribution, and adaptability are critical to consider in all phases of our research, and we will employ thermal biology approaches to better understand these effects. Promising leads will be pursued to move towards development of applications that reduce negative impacts of these major muscid and calliphorid pests and provide viable tools for our producers and the public.
