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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Laboratory Rearing of Stable Flies and Other Muscoid Diptera
Published on: August 3, 2018
Precipitation and Temperature Effects on Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Population Dynamics
David B Taylor1, Kristina Friesen1, Jerry Zhu1
1USDA, ARS Agroecosystem Management Research Unit, Lincoln, NE (dave.taylor@ars.usda.gov; kristina.friesen@ars.usda.gov; Jerry.Zhu@ars.usda.gov).
Abstract:
The dynamics of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), populations relative to temperature and precipitation were evaluated in a 13-yr study in eastern Nebraska. During the course of the study, >1.7 million stable flies were collected on an array of 25 sticky traps. A log-normal model using degree-days with a 15 °C threshold and weekly lags 0-4 for temperature and 2-7 for precipitation provided the best fit with the observed data. The relationships of temperature and precipitation to stable fly trap catches were both curvilinear, with maxima at 6.6 degree-day-15 (≈22 °C) and 7.4 mm precipitation per day, respectively. The temperature and precipitation model accounted for 72% of the variance in seasonal trap catches.
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