PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITION OF FACE FLIES, MUSCA AUTUMNALIS, CAPTURED FROM CATTLE DURING THE FALL MONTHS

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Abstract
The face fly, Musca autumnalis De Geer, overwinters in an imaginal diapause characterized by cessation of reproductive activity and hypertrophy of the fat body (Stoffolano and Matthysse 1967). As in species of mosquitoes that employ a similar overwintering strategy (see Washino 1977), the potential of the face fly to serve as a vector of animal disease agents would be enhanced if flies contact animals prior to hibernation, thus possibly acquiring pathogens that overwinter in the insects. Because little is known about the prehibernation behavior of the face fly, a vector of several parasites of cattle (Branch and Stoffolano 1974; Bech-Neilsen et al. 1982), we here report observations of the physiological condition of face flies captured from cattle during the fall months.