title: Dividing the pie: differential dung pat size utilization by sympatric Haematobia irritans and Musca autumnalis.
abstract: Horn flies [Haematobia irritans (Diptera: Muscidae) (L.)] and face flies [Musca autumnalis (Diptera: Muscidae) De Geer] use the same larval resource, but their interactions are poorly studied. Dung pats (n = 350) were core sampled in the summers of 2012 and 2013 from irrigated pastures in Pomona, California, U.S.A. (34°03'N, 117°48'W) and held for face fly and horn fly emergence. Surface areas and estimated weights were recorded for each whole pat. Almost half (42.0%) of the pat cores yielded neither fly, 29.7% yielded horn flies only, 12.9% yielded face flies only and 15.4% yielded both flies. Of the fly-positive pats, surface area and mass were larger for face fly-occupied pats, whereas horn fly-occupied pats were smaller. Pats shared by the two species were intermediate. Horn flies per positive core were unaffected by the absence/presence of face flies, but half as many face flies emerged when pats were co-inhabited by horn flies. Face flies inhabited larger pats, which might better resist heating and drying, to which they are susceptible; horn flies inhabited a broad pat size range. Horn fly tolerance of lower dung moisture probably allows horn flies to colonize and survive in a wide range of pats in dry areas like southern California.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, U.S.A.
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, U.S.A.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Mullens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002140:California; D002417:Cattle; D017753:Ecosystem; D005243:Feces; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D009117:Muscidae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D012621:Seasons; D061350:Sympatry
keywords: Face fly; horn fly; pasture fly; resource partitioning