Black Fly Rearing and Use in Laboratory Bioassays

• Published in: Rearing Animal and Plant Pathogen Vectors Vol. 1; pp. 42 - 72
• Main Authors: Gray, Elmer W., Noblet, Ray
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom CRC Press 2014; Taylor & Francis Group
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: Epidemiology & medical statistics; Zoology & animal sciences; Colony; Rearing unit; Black flies; Simulium vittatum
• ISBN: 1466598212; 9781466598218
• DOI: 10.1201/b16804-2

Black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) are serious pests of man and animals worldwide. In addition, black flies vector the causative agent of human onchocerciasis, the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus. Due to their public health significance and worldwide pest status, substantial efforts have been made to develop efficient methods to rear these insects in the laboratory environment. The University of Georgia Black Fly Rearing and Bioassay Laboratory currently has the world's only laboratory colony of black flies. The original field-collected material for this colony, Simulium vittatum cytospecies IS-7, was collected as eggs from trailing grasses in Flaxmill Creek, Cambridge, NY. The colony currently produces 200,000-300,000 larvae per week during normal operations. The primary purpose of the colony is to produce uniform larvae for a variety of research activities. Such activities include product development, quality control, and other research associated with the insecticidal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. The colony operates in a similar fashion to the Cornell Automated Rearing System incorporating a closed-circulation trough system in an aquatic rearing unit. Water is pumped from a lower reservoir to upper chambers where it flows over a runway creating an ideal larval habitat. Associated systems have been developed to inject food material into the unit, capture emerging adults, induce mating and provide suitable substrate for oviposition. This chapter outlines the construction and use of equipment needed to successfully rear black flies in the laboratory, and their use as experimental subjects for a variety of research purposes.