Comparative harmfulness of blood-sucking Diptera insects to animals

Abstract

Goal. To determine and substantiate the degree of harmfulness of various components of biting insects, such as ectoparasites of cattle, based on a comparative calculation of the bodyweight of female insects with the amount of blood they absorb. Methods. Field, parasitological, laboratory, and computational. Results. The experiments used the indices of the size and bodyweight of female insects, as well as the amount of blood they consumed to compare the harmfulness of various components of biting insects. The ratio of blood mass consumed to the bodyweight of hungry female insects is different for different groups. At low body weight there is a tendency to increase this parameter, i.e. small insects concerning their weight absorb more blood than large ones. It is advisable to use the mass of blood-saturated female insects to compare the harmful components of the biting insects, as this allows to level the indicators obtained by the weight of hungry female insects and the mass of absorbed blood, between which there is no direct relationship. Data on the number of different components of biting insects, which were compared according to the degree of harmful effects on animals, also make it possible to calculate conditional coefficients. Conclusions. The degree of harmfulness of various components of biting insects as ectoparasites of cattle is substantiated based on comparative calculation of the bodyweight of female insects with the amount of blood absorbed by them. Compared to the volume of blood absorbed by a female insect of medium-sized gadflies (as a reference unit), the conditional coefficient of absorbed blood by a female of large gadflies is 0.48; checkered and horse-flies — 3.54; mosquitoes — 30.7; buffalo gnats — 76.5; malanders — 474. These data can be used to determine the estimated loss of productivity of animals depending on the number of blood-sucking Diptera insects.