Osservazioni preliminari su Ditteri Brachiceri in allevamenti di Bovini

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS REGARDING DIPTERA BRACHYCERA ON CATTLE FARMS. Flies (Diptera Brachycera) are a constant presence on livestock farms. These troublesome insects cause various negative effects: irritation for the workers, stress for the animals with a decline in production, a worsening of the hygienic conditions of the environment and the milk, the spread of pathogens, and difficulty in applying quality standards in the production process. The setting up of a good plan of pest control requires at least two kinds of information, knowledge of the Brachycera species present, and the type of livestock accommodation adopted, in order to permit the choice of active principles and integrated pest management criteria together with the most suitable practises for pest control treatment. When working in the presence of animals which provide products for human consumption, these choices must be made carefully. The present work, conducted in the province of Piacenza (northern Italy), has considered three types of livestock farming in loose housing on deep litter: i) breeding of Frisona Italiana milk cows (2 cowsheds) in the Po plain area; ii) hill farming of crossbred Frisona Italiana x Piemontese beef cattle (1 cowshed); iii) hill farming of Limousine beef cattle (1 cowshed). Sampling was carried out with Fly Buster® traps, hand collecting of puparia in the litter, and collecting of adults on animals. Flies belonging mostly to the genera Musca, Stomoxys and Fannia were found. The most present and abundant fly species was the house fly, Musca domestica L.