The temperature preferences of the motile stages of Stomoxys calcitrans Linnaeus (Diptera : muscidae)

Abstract

When adult Stomoxys calcitrans were exposed to a temperature gradient, 66% of them selected temperatures between 20,1 and 32,5°C. The larval stages preferred temperatures between 19,5 and 33,2°C. Although the differences in the temperature preferences of the different larval stages were not significant, the fully-fed larvae appear to prefer slightly cooler conditions than the feeding stages. The temperature preferences of both the adults and the larvae are not influenced by the temperatures to which the developmental stages of the experimental flies or their previous generations were exposed.