Trapability of periurban populations of horseflies (diptera : tabanidae)‎ in Khartoum State, Sudan

Abstract EN

Experiments were conducted between October 2001 and September 2005 near Khartoum, Sudan to study the trapability of periurban populations of horseflies and Muscidae (Diptera) in canopy, NGU2B, biconical and Nzi traps.

The main objective was to develop a simple bait technology to control horseflies.

Female Atylotus agrestis (Wiedman), Tabanus sufis (Jennicke) and T.

taeniola (Palisot) were the only tabanids trapped.

The Nzi trap caught up to 3.0 and 12.0times as many horseflies as the NGU2B and the biconical trap, respectively.

The corresponding figures for muscids were 6.6 and 7.0times as many insects.

TheNGU2B trap captured 4.2times as many A agrestis and 2.2times as many total tabanids as the biconical.

There were no significant differences between the Nzi and canopy traps in catches of any one insect species and between the NGU2B and the biconical in catches of muscids or T.

sufis.

Monthly catch indices of the Nzi relative to the biconical suggested that the Nzi trap was highly effective in monitoring declining and/or sparse populations of horseflies.

Limited data with the Nzi, biconical and Vavoua traps in central and southern Sudan confirmed the low efficacy of the Nzi against Glossina juscipes fuscipes (Newstead) (Diptera: Glossinidae) and its superiority against diverse species of tabanids including Philoliche magrettii /(Wiedman) which has never been caught in a visual trap before.

The Absolute efficiency of the unbaited Nzi was 63.8, 55.8, 7.8, 45.3 and 0.5% against A.

agrestis, T.

sufis, T.

taeniola, total tabanids and muscids, respectively.

Efficiency was enhanced by dispensing an attractive octenol/phenols blend near traps.

The Nzi plus octenol blend odour are possible baits to sample and control horseflies.