A Technique for Physiologically Age-Grading Female Stable Flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.)

Authors

P. J. Scholl

Date of this Version

12-1980

Document Type

Article

Citation

Scholl, P.J. (1980). A technique for physiologically age-grading female stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Research Bulletin No. 298)

Comments

ISSN 0161-3861

Abstract

A method of dissection followed by staining was initiated to allow physiological age- grading based on ovarian development in order to more completely describe the physiological development of adult female stable flies [Stomoxys calcitrans (L. )]. The gonotrophic developmental continuum from a non-differentiated cell in teneral females to mature eggs at the time of oviposition was first arbitrarily divided into six stages by using distinct landmarks within the developing oocyte . Then, nulliparous, uniparous, and biparous+ females were differentiated on the basis of the presence or absence of stained follicular relics in the ovariole sheaths. The combination of the two techniques made it possible to assign dissected adult female stable flies to one of 12 age-classes.