Otranto D, Brianti E, Cantacessi C, Lia R P, Máca J
Department of Animal Health and Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Med Vet Entomol. 2006 Dec;20(4):358-64. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2006.00643.x.
Flies belonging to the subfamily Steganinae (Drosophilidae) display unusual zoophilic feeding habits at the adult and/or larval stage. Phortica variegata (Fallén) feeds on tears or eye liquid around the eyes of humans and carnivores. When feeding it is a potential vector of Thelazia callipaeda (Railliet and Henry) eyeworms. Adult and larval stages of this fly may be easily confused with other species belonging to the same genus, and little is known on the biology and ecology of P. variegata. In April-November 2005, a total of 969 P. variegata were collected in an area with a high prevalence of canine thelaziosis. The number of flies collected weekly was then related to climatic and environmental parameters (e.g. temperature, relative humidity and total rainfall) recorded daily at the collection site. The highest number of Phortica were collected during July-August. The sex ratio (number of males : females) rose from approximately 0.5 during May-July, to approximately 3.0 in August and 181 during September-October. Distributional data, representing 242 sites at which P. variegata has been collected in Europe, were analysed using a desktop implementation of the genetic algorithm for rule-set prediction (GARP) to model ecological requirements across Europe, as well as in Italy. P. variegata is shown to be mainly active at 20-25 degrees C and 50-75% RH. The ecological niche model suggests with a high degree of confidence that large areas of Europe are likely to represent suitable habitat for this species, mostly concentrated in central Europe. The results reported here contribute basic knowledge on the ecology and geographical distribution of P. variegata flies, which will be fundamental to gaining a better understanding of their role as vectors of human and animal pathogens.
属于潜蝇亚科（果蝇科）的苍蝇在成虫和/或幼虫阶段表现出不同寻常的嗜动物性取食习性。杂色伏蝇（Fallén）以人类和食肉动物眼睛周围的眼泪或眼液为食。取食时，它是结膜吸吮线虫（Railliet和Henry）眼虫的潜在传播媒介。这种苍蝇的成虫和幼虫阶段可能很容易与同一属的其他物种混淆，而且对杂色伏蝇的生物学和生态学知之甚少。2005年4月至11月，在犬结膜吸吮线虫病高发地区共采集到969只杂色伏蝇。然后将每周采集的苍蝇数量与采集地点每天记录的气候和环境参数（如温度、相对湿度和总降雨量）相关联。7月至8月采集到的伏蝇数量最多。性别比（雄性数量：雌性数量）从5月至7月的约0.5上升到8月的约3.0，9月至10月为181。利用遗传算法规则集预测（GARP）的桌面实现方法，分析了代表欧洲242个杂色伏蝇采集地点的分布数据，以模拟整个欧洲以及意大利的生态需求。结果表明，杂色伏蝇主要在20 - 25摄氏度和50 - 75%相对湿度下活动。生态位模型高度可信地表明，欧洲大片地区可能是该物种的适宜栖息地，主要集中在中欧。本文报道的结果为杂色伏蝇的生态学和地理分布提供了基础知识，这对于更好地理解它们作为人类和动物病原体传播媒介的作用至关重要。
