ABSTRACT
Tsetse research at the Seibersdorf Laboratory was initiated in 1968. At that time, revolutionary events generated increasing interest in the use of non-pesticide methods for vector control, namely, (1) eradication of the screwworm fly in the United States of America by means of the sterile male release technique, and (2) success in maintaining self-supporting colonies of economically important tsetse species in laboratories at Lisbon, Bristol and Paris.
Against the background of well documented but sometimes underestimated biological and technical problems associated with the use of living animals and artificial feeding systems for rearing an obligatory haematophagous insect of low reproductive potential, research efforts were directed toward development of large-scale rearing and radiation sterilization of target species of tsetse flies.
Co-operative research efforts and active exchange of information between the Seibersdorf staff, consultants and scientists participating in the Joint FAO/IAEA co-ordinated research programme have made it possible to determine realistic production standards and to re-assess factors affecting the efficiency of the sterile insect release method for tsetse fly control or eradication.
A continuous sequence of technical improvements enhanced establishment at the Seibersdorf Laboratory of a membrane-fed stock colony of Glossina palpalis palpalis. containing 75,000 breeding female flies, with a monthly production of 150,000 puparia and a distributable excess of at least 60,000 puparia per month. Moreover, other species (G. tachiniodes. G. pallidipes) have been successfully adapted to the in vitro system. There have been recent advances in the continuing search for further refinement of the technology of mass-rearing of tsetse, such as the development of synthetic diets, emergence and larviposition synchronization and the use of large holding cages.
