Occurrence and Distribution of Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae and Muscidae) of Public Health Importance on the Island of Oahu

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2009-12-01

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Hawaiian Entomological Society

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Abstract

The Vector Control Branch of the Hawaii State Department of Health has accumulated a large volume of written inspection data on pests of public health for the island of Oahu. Fly related problems, excluding both mosquitoes and odor complaints that often lead to fly breeding violations, provided the second greatest amount of arthropod pest information available, after mosquitoes. The objectives of this study were to conduct a survey on the occurrence of fly complaints on Oahu over a 10 year period, determine their distribution over time, graphically compare fly occurrence within and between district/areas, and correlate fly occurrence and distribution with season. Fly data were drawn from inspection reports from 1990-1999, population information was obtained from Hawaii Census and State of Hawaii Data Books, 125 district/area geographic locations were defined, and fly occurrence and distribution were adjusted for population and mapped using ArcView GIS 3.2. Overall, reported fly activity was found to occur fairly evenly across the island’s districts. Lower elevation areas around the perimeter of Oahu had the greatest number of complaints and the levels of fly activity were highest during the winter and summer. The primary fly species recorded were Phaencia cuprina (Wiedemann), the bronze bottle fly; Musca sorbens Wiedemann, the dog dung fly; Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius), the Oriental blow fly; and M. domestica Linneaus, the house fly. The main breeding sources were food garbage and slop, pet and farm animal dung, dead animals, and rotten fruits. Fly populations are being maintained in urban and agricultural districts by human activities. As a result, disease transmission is possible, especially in the lower elevation, urban and agricultural areas of Oahu. These results indicate that educational programs should be carried out in late fall and late spring, and that residential fly surveys may be concentrated in a limited number of district/areas.

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arthropod pests, Chrysomya megacephala, Hawaii, insect vectors, Lucilia cuprina, Musca domestica, Musca sorbens, Oahu, seasonal variation, spatial distribution

Citation

Leong MKH, Grace JK. 2009. Occurrence and distribution of flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae and Muscidae) of public health importance on the island of Oahu. Proc Hawaiian Entomol Soc 41:79–88.

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10 pages

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