Stable Fly in Cattle

• Stable flies are found throughout Australia
• Stable flies feed on blood causing production loss
• Stable flies are a declared pest in Western Australia

Description

• Length: Adult stable flies are 5-7 mm long
• Thorax: Dark-grey in colour with 4 black stripes
• Abdomen: Grey with black spots forming a checkerboard pattern
• Eyes:
  • Female: Widely separated by an ovoid frontal stripe
  • Male: Separated by a narrow frontal stripe
• Larvae: Mature larvae are over 10 mm long, smooth and pale yellow to creamy white

The most obvious difference to house flies is that the stable fly has a protruding biting mouthpart (Figure 1).

Biology of stable flies

The life cycle of the stable fly has four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Each female lays over 500 eggs during her lifetime in scattered groups of 15-20 in rotting, spoiled or fermenting organic matter. The addition of animal manure, moisture, soil and straw, hay, silage or grain makes an ideal medium for stable fly development. Cattle feedlots and dairies provide ideal fly breeding media.

Larvae develop over 7-10 days in ideal conditions, but in low temperatures (15˚C) this can increase to more than 7 weeks. When finished with feeding, the larvae then move to a drier area to form a dark brown protective pupal case around the developing fly. After a few days the adult fly breaks out of this pupal case and searches for a host to feed on its blood.

Stable flies will bite and feed on any warm-blooded animal, though they have a higher preference for cattle and horses. They penetrate the animal’s skin with their piercing mouthpart, with both moth male and female flies feeding on blood twice per day, each time sucking up around 26 mg (0.02 ml) of blood.

Female flies mate 1 day after emergence, and after 5 days of blood feeding they are ready to lay eggs and the cycle starts again.

In summer most adult stable flies live only 1-2 weeks, whereas in cooler months they will survive up to 6 weeks.

Location

Adult stable flies are often seen resting on vertical surfaces such as fence posts and railings and are often seen on the sides of white vehicles. Stable fly larvae grow in rotting grass/hay and in areas with old manure, especially when mixed with vegetable matter.

In cattle feedlots larvae can be found in high numbers in drains, sedimentation ponds, and the hospital/induction areas. Additional areas larvae grow in include under fence lines where water has kept manure moist, silage pits, and in spilled grain and feed that has started to rot and ferment.

In paddocks stable flies breed in rotting hay residues around feeders and in yards where bales are fed out to cattle. Vegetables and fruit used as supplementary feed that have rotted on the ground also provide an ideal medium for larval growth.

Stable flies typically bite the legs and belly areas of cattle. The normal reaction to stable fly biting is stomping of feet, head tossing and switching of tail. Research has shown a strong correlation between the number of leg stomps and numbers of stable flies. Also see assess fly numbers.

In paddocks, some other avoidance behaviors include standing in water, lying down with their legs tucked underneath their body, flicking sand on themselves and bunching or crowding together. When cattle bunch up to repel flies this can lead to additional problems such as heat stress and reduced feeding.

Adult stable flies have significant medical and economic impacts through annoyance, production losses and potential disease transmission between animals and as few as 20 adult stable flies per animal can reduce daily weight gain and milk production.

For more information on stable fly treatment and management see the following links.

Assess fly numbers

When, where and how to treat other flies

Treat feedlot surrounds

Biological control

Manage feedlot flies

More information:

Western Australia

Management of situations within livestock production where stable fly breeding can occur are addressed in the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management (Stable Fly) Plan 2016 under which Stable Fly is a Declared Pest.

10. Keeping stock

1. The measures set out in this clause apply to the keeping of stock for commercial purposes on relevant land, including the operation of a feedlot on relevant land.
2. Fruit or vegetables must not be fed to stock except—
   • in a trough; or
   • by being spread thinly on the ground.
3. Any animal manure, soiled straw animal bedding, poultry litter or spilled grain feed that accumulates in an enclosure where stock are kept, and is not infested with Stable fly or Stable fly larvae, must be either—
   • monitored at intervals of not less than 7 days for the presence of Stable fly; or
   • dealt with in accordance with subclause (4) as if it were infested with Stable fly.
4. Any animal manure, straw animal bedding, poultry litter or spilled grain feed on relevant land that is infested with Stable fly must immediately—
   • be collected into a heap or mound; and
   • be treated with an approved pesticide and left undisturbed for two weeks; or
   • be covered completely with plastic sheeting, and be kept covered until such time that it is not infested with Stable fly.

More information on stable flies and their control can be found on the Western Australian government website and with the Managing stable flies manual.