Blood-feeding patterns of horse flies in the French Pyrenees

Baldacchino Frédéric, Gardes Laëtitia, De Stordeur E., Jay-Robert Pierre, Garros Claire. 2014. Blood-feeding patterns of horse flies in the French Pyrenees. Veterinary Parasitology, 199 (3-4) : pp. 283-288.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.10.009

Journal article ; Article de revue à facteur d'impact

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Quartile : Q1, Sujet : VETERINARY SCIENCES / Quartile : Q2, Sujet : PARASITOLOGY

Abstract : Horse flies can mechanically transmit Besnoitia besnoiti, the agent of bovine besnoitiosis. Although previously limited to enzootic areas, especially the French Pyrenees Mountains, bovine besnoitiosis is now considered a re-emerging disease in western Europe. To improve understanding of the role of horse flies as mechanical vectors, this study investigated their blood-feeding ecology in the eastern French Pyrenees, in two high-altitude summer pastures whose main domestic ungulates were cattle, and in a wildlife park with native fauna. Species-specific PCR assays were conducted to identify the sources of blood meals: wild boar, horse, cattle (or bison), sheep (or mouflon), goat, red deer, roe deer and izard (or Pyrenean chamois). In La Mouline pasture, tabanids (N = 20) fed on red deer (70%) and cattle (30%). In Mantet pasture, tabanids (N = 24) fed on cattle (52%), red deer (20%), wild boar (16%), horse (8%) and sheep (4%). In the wildlife park, Tabanus bromius (N = 32), the most abundant species collected, fed on red deer (85%), bison (9%) and wild boar (6%). Despite relatively high densities in both the pastures and in the wildlife park, small wild ungulates (izard, mouflon and roe deer) were not detected as a source of blood meals. Only two mixed blood meals were identified in two specimens of T. bromius: cattle/horse for the specimen collected in the pastures, and bison/wild boar for the specimen collected in the wildlife park. Our findings showed that tabanids display a level of opportunistic feeding behaviour, in addition to a preference for red deer, the latter being particularly true for Philipomyia aprica, the most abundant species collected in the pastures. (Résumé d'auteur)

Mots-clés Agrovoc : Besnoitia, Comportement alimentaire, Sang, Préférence alimentaire, Animal domestique, Animal sauvage, Bétail, Bovin, Cheval, Sanglier, Bison, Ovin, Cerf, Cervus elaphus, PCR, Cytochrome b, Enquête