Observations on Heterotylenchus autumnalis in Relation to the Face Fly1

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Abstract
A nematode, Heterotylenchus autumnalis Nickle, parasitic on the face fly, Musca autumnalis De Geer, was studied in the laboratory. Nematode-infested flies completed 1 gonadotrophic cycle but seldom completed additional cycles. All nematode-free flies examined contained at least partially developed ova, whereas 94.7% of the nematode-infested flies in the second or later gonadotrophic cycle contained ovaries devoid of eggs. Heterosexual female and male nematodes were never present within the fly ovaries until the flies were more than 8 days old. Thus, only flies older than that can reinfest bovine feces with the nematode.