Common Sense Control of Insect Pests on Homestead Animals
(Page 2 of 5)
July/August 1971
By R.J. Holliday, DVM
Horseflies and deer flies lay eggs near water and the larvae drop into the water and complete their development in the mud of shallow ponds or marshes. In some climates it takes almost a year for them to complete their development.
RELATED CONTENT
The screwworm fly deposits her eggs on the edges of wounds on animals. The eggs hatch in about 12 hours and the larvae burrow into the living flesh of their host. If not treated, these larvae will eventually kill the affected host animal. At one time the screwworm was the scourge of the cattle industry in the south and southwest but the pest has now been brought under control by U.S.D.A. entomologists who knew that the female screwworm mates only once but that the male mates several times. The entomologists took advantage of these traits by releasing millions of sterilized male screwworm flies into the problem areas. The resultant sterile matings have been responsible for a marked reduction in the number of these pests. Indeed, total eradication would be possible if it were not for the unavoidable migration of flies into this country from Mexico.
The maggots now seen in neglected wounds are usually the larvae of the common blowfly. These larvae do not feed on live flesh and consequently are not nearly as serious a problem as screwworms. However, they do interfere with healing and for this reason should be controlled.
The many different species of mosquitoes have somewhat dissimilar life cycles but all are dependent on stagnant water as the site for larval development. Some species are known vectors (carriers) of sleeping sickness and malaria.
Ticks are not true insects. Along with spiders, they are in a class of creatures called ARACHNIDA. Adult arachnids have eight legs as opposed to the six legs exhibited by adult insects. Tick eggs are laid on the ground and soon hatch into tiny six-legged seed ticks. The seed ticks crawl up on vegetation and transfer to any suitable host that brushes past their perch. Once on the host, the ticks gorge with blood, drop to the ground, molt and become eight-legged nymphs. The nymphs follow the same system to find a new host and after a final molt, the adult begins its quest for another victim. Some ticks spend their entire development period on one host but most of the common ones are three-host ticks, as described above. Ticks can be vectors of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, sleeping sickness, and tularemia (rabbit fever). Humans are susceptible to all of these diseases.
Page:
<< Previous 1 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Next >>
