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THE STABLE FLY (STOMOXYS CALCITRANS) (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE)
RECORDED FROM THE FAROES
is 17-20 °C, which renders fly reproduc-
tion possible; unfortunately, the temper-
ature was not measured in the Faroese
byres, however, a similar temperature level
is expected. In a majority of the Faroese
byres the herd was stalled all year round,
which supports continuous development of
fly populations.
S. calcitrans was probably introduced
into the Faroes in imported cattle feed.
Since the first reports on flies biting man
were received in 2002, the species was
probably recently introduced. In the Vel-
bastaður area the species is widespread and
probably mainly dispersed by exchange of
cattle or forage. However, since the stable
fly is a strong flier, the possibility of ac-
tive dispersal by flight from farm to farm
cannot be excluded, providing that the out-
door air temperature is sufficiently high
(above 18° C) and the wind is gentle. In
Denmark S. calcitrans is a typical stable
species but on hot, calm summer days it
has been observed in small numbers on
cattle in the field.
Since S. calcitrans is an annoying fly pest
on domestic animals, the further dispersal
of the fly in the Faroes and its abundance
in the byres should be watched. To reduce
the fly problem it is important to maintain
a high standard of hygiene in the byres.
To control the fly it is recommended
to use releases of the parasitoid wasp
Spalangia cameroni (Hymenoptera:
Pteromalidae) (Skovgárd, 2004).
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to Boy Overgaard
Nielsen, Institute of Biological Sciences,
University of Aarhus for his helpful criti-
cal and constructive comments. Also a
thank to Pehr H. Enckell, University of
Lund for commenting the paper and to
Høgni Holm for translation of the abstract
into Faroese.
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