Fly Production Sources in Urban Communities

Abstract

Fly breeding surveys conducted in Charleston, West Virginia, in 1951 and 1952 demonstrated that approx. 50% of the positive media detected were garbage. These data were similar to those obtained at Phoenix, Arizona, (1951-52), and at Topeka, Kansas, (1950). In all 3 cities, Musca domestica infested scattered garbage much more frequently than it did garbage in containers. The reverse was true for the blow flies Phaenicia sericata and P. pallescens. Sarcophaga spp. was the chief inhabitant of dog stools whereas M. domestica predominated in accumulated chicken excrement. Socioeconomic levels in Charleston, West Virginia, influenced the types of breeding media available, the number of such substrates increasing with the decline in premises sanitation. Musca domestica exhibited the greatest versatility in breeding habits; this sp. was recovered from 11 of the 13 different substrates.