Observations on the peri-domestic breeding behaviour and resting sites of Glossina tachinoides Westw. near Nsukka, East Central State, Nigeria

Abstract

In 1964–65, breeding sites of the tsetse fly G. tachinoides Westw. near Nsukka in south-eastern Nigeria were found in peri-domestic situations (particularly beneath stacked coco-yam tubers and at the base of fences of pig enclosures) and in adjacent farmland (particularly beneath banana and coco-yam plants, under Lantana camara, at the base of farmland fences and around derelict farm buildings). Between them, these sites provide moisture conditions suitable for year-round breeding of G. tachinoides and are not exposed to unsuitably high temperatures (>90°F) for long periods. The night-time resting sites of G. tachinoides in three villages five miles east of Nsukka were sought between May and November 1966 using ordinary torchlight. The most popular resting-sites were dried fronds of oil and coconut palms used for fencing pig enclosures, but a few flies also rested on man-made objects in the villages and on vegetation nearby. Most flies were resting less than two feet above ground level. Day-time observations confirmed the night-time findings. G. tachinoides could probably be controlled, if not eradicated, in the Nsukka area by two applications, a fortnight apart, of DDT emulsion concentrate to pig enclosure fences and pig styes up to a height of 2–3 ft during March–May when the fly population is most concentrated around confined pigs.