Fertilization in the Tsetse Fly, Glossina Palpalis, In a Population of Low Density

Abstract

The tsetse fly, Glossina palpalis, was formerly very common in the riverine bush on the Kuja river and its tributaries in the South Kavirondo district of the Nyanza Province, Kenya, but it has been practically eliminated over much of this area. The density of tsetse, as measured by fly rounds, 2 has been reduced from 100 to 20~tse per fly-boy-day to about 1 per F.B.D. this measure of control has been obtained using the" Block" method. The riverine bush has been divided into blocks up to several miles long by making clearings. of about 1000 yards wide, and in each block the flies have been almost eliminated by "hand-catching"; that is, squads of catchers have patrolled the blocks regularly and caught enormous numbers of tsetse.