Phenotypic variation of the housefly, Musca domestica: amounts and patterns of wing shape asymmetry in wild populations and laboratory colonies

Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae) is a vector of a range variety of pathogens infecting humans and animals. During a year, housefly experiences serial population bottlenecks resulted in reduction of genetic diversity. Population structure has also been subjected to different selection regimes created by insect control programs and pest management. Both environmental and genetic disturbances can affect developmental stability, which is often reflected in morphological traits as asymmetry. Since developmental stability is of great adaptive importance, the aim of this study was to examine fluctuating asymmetry (FA), as a measure of developmental instability, in both wild populations and laboratory colonies of M. domestica. The amount and pattern of wing shape FA was compared among samples within each of two groups (laboratory and wild) and between groups. Firstly, the amount of FA does not differ significantly among samples within the group and neither does it differ between groups. Regarding the mean shape of FA, contrary to non-significant difference within the wild population group and among some colonies, the significant difference between groups was found. These results suggest that the laboratory colonies and wild samples differ in buffering mechanisms to perturbations during development. Hence, inbreeding and stochastic processes, mechanisms dominating in the laboratory-bred samples contributed to significant changes in FA of wing shape. Secondly, general patterns of left–right displacements of landmarks across both studied sample groups are consistent. Observed consistent direction of FA implies high degrees of wing integration. Thus, our findings shed light on developmental buffering processes important for population persistence in the environmental change and genetic stress influence on M. domestica.This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Science of Serbia (Dynamics of gene pool, genetic and phenotypic variability of populations, determined by the environmental changes, no. 173012), and the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development (Molecular and phenotypic diversity of taxa of economical and epidemiological importance, and endangered and endemic species in Europe). This study was partially funded by project LIFE-ECODIPTERA (LIFE05-ENV/E/000302)

Pig manure treatment with housefly (Musca domestica) rearing – an environmental life cycle assessment

The largest portion of a product’s environmental impacts and costs of manufacturing and use results from decisions taken in the conceptual design phase long before its market entry. To foster sustainable production patterns, applying life cycle assessment in the early product development stage is gaining importance. Following recent scientific studies on using dipteran fly species for waste management, this paper presents an assessment of two insect-based manure treatment systems. Considering the necessity of manure treatment in regions with concentrated animal operations, reducing excess manure volumes with the means of insects presents a potentially convenient method to combine waste reduction and nutrient recovery. An analytical comparison of rearing houseflies on fresh and pre-treated pig manure is reported with reference to agricultural land occupation, water and fossil depletion potential. Based on ex-ante modelled industrial scale rearing systems, the driving factors of performance and environmentally sensitive aspects of the rearing process have been assessed. Expressed per kg manure dry matter reduction, the estimated agricultural land occupation varied between 1.4 and 2.7 m2yr, fossil depletion potential ranged from 1.9 to 3.4 kgoil eq and the obtained water depletion potential was calculated from 36.4 to 65.6 m3. System improvement potential was identified for heating related energy usage and water consumption. The geographical context and the utility of the co-products, i.e. residue substrates and insect products, were determined as influential variables to the application potential of this novel manure treatment concept. The results of this study, applied at the earliest stages of the design of the process, assist evaluation of the feasibility of such a system and provide guidance for future research and development activities.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 312084 (PROteINSECT)

Introducing improvements in the mass rearing of the housefly: biological, morphometric and genetic characterization of laboratory strains

Understanding the biology of the housefly (Musca domestica L.) is crucial for the development of mass-rearing protocols in order to use this insect as a degradation agent for livestock waste. In this study, the biological and genetic differences between different laboratory strains of M. domestica were analysed. Additionally, hybrids were obtained by mixing the strains and their biological parameters were also measured. The three strains of M. domestica presented differences in their biological and morphological parameters, the main differences were: size, egg production and developmental time. The strain A (specimens from Central Europe) had the best qualities to be used in mass-rearing conditions: it produced the largest quantities of eggs (5.77±0.38 eggs per female per day), the individuals were larger (12.62±0.22 mg) and its developmental time was shorter (15.22±0.21 days). However, the strain C (specimens from SW Europe) produced the fewest eggs (3.15±0.42 eggs per female per day) and needed 18.16±0.49 days to develop from larva to adult, whilst the females from strain B (from South America) produced 4.25±0.47 eggs per day and needed 17.11±0.36 days to complete its development. Genetic analysis of the original laboratory strains showed four different mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I haplotypes. Statistical parsimony network analysis showed that the SW Europe and South-American strains shared haplotypes, whereas the Central Europe strain did not. Upon hybridizing the strains, variations in egg production and in developmental time were observed in between hybrids and pure strains, and when mixing Central European and South-American strains only males were obtained.This study was funded by the project LIFE-ECODIPTERA (LIFE05-ENV/E/000302) and partially by GV/2011/039 (Generalitat Valenciana) y GRE09-27 (University of Alicante) projects

Primeros datos sobre la utilización de dípteros saprófagos en la biodegradación de purines de cerdo a escala industrial. Presentación del proyecto LIFE ECODIPTERA

El proyecto ECODIPTERA pretende introducir una alternativa novedosa: aplicar de manera práctica la acción bio-descomponedora de especies de dípteros en una planta-piloto a escala semi-industrial.Trabajo subvencionado por el proyecto LIFE ECODIPTERA (LIFE05 ENV/E/000302