Field Guide to Venomous and Medically Important Invertebrates ...

effective on the local scale. These traps can be treated with residual insecticides to kill trapped
flies.
Figure 198. Tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans), dorsal view. Photo: David Bowles and Mark
Pomerinke.
Figure 199. Tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans), lateral view. Photo: David Bowles and Mark
Pomerinke.
Stable flies and dog flies (Family Muscidae)
Stable flies are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical environments. These flies appear
similar to the house fly (Musca domestica), but they have biting mouthparts capable of inflicting
painful bites to wild animals, livestock and people. Stable flies bite during daylight periods, and
they can occur in relatively large numbers. Additionally, they are strong fliers and may fly
upwards of 3 miles (5 km) from their breeding source. Larvae most often inhabit organically
rich materials such as decaying straw and hay enriched with animal dung or decaying
vegetation. The primary nuisance species are Stomoxys calcitrans, Stomoxys nigra, and
Stomoxys sitiens.
Figure 200. Stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans). Photo: University of Nebraska, Department of
Entomology.
Although stable flies are mainly nuisance biters, they may have the potential to mechanically
transmit certain disease agents to people. For example, Stomoxys calcitrans have been
implicated as mechanical vectors of Leishmania mexicana. Although phlebotomine sand flies