Age Composition and Seasonal Phenology of House-Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Populations1

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Abstract
Age-grading techniques were applied to house-fly (Musca domestica) populations sampled at a dairy farm in Ames, Iowa, USA, from June 1978 to September 1980. Seven gonotrophic classes were used to study population structure. Fecundity was estimated by counting the numbers of functional ovarioles. The mean number of eggs per female was 103, with a large seasonal variation. Daily survival probabilities among adult female flies were estimated, and the mean was 83%. An average daily survival rate of 73% was estimated among populations subjected to ad hoc space and residual treatments with organophosphorous insecticides and application of insecticidal baits. A mean of 64 eggs was produced by an untreated adult house fly over an average lifetime of 5.4 days. A mean of 22 eggs was produced in an average lifetime of 3.2 days by females subjected to insecticidal pressure. Oscillations in age structure were observed in all years. There were corresponding oscillations in fly density.