ABSTRACT
Buffalo flies Haematobia exigua de Meijere were introduced to Australia in 1838 and have become major cattle pests in Australia’s northern cattle industries. They have been steadily expanding their range southward and their spread is likely to be further facilitated by climate change. Control programmes consisting of compulsory chemical treatments and regulated cattle movements have proven unsuccessful in preventing the spread of buffalo flies and, without area-wide intervention, they are likely to become major cattle pests in Australia’s southern beef and dairy industries. Buffalo flies do not have a pupal overwintering strategy but survive winter in localised foci of slowly cycling low level populations of flies. Populations increase and spread to infest surrounding areas when weather becomes favourable in summer. This suggests the potential for an area-wide control approach, targeting overwintering foci of the flies. A project has been initiated to transinfect buffalo flies with Wolbachia, determine the effects of Wolbachia infection in the flies, and assess the feasibility of control by Wolbachia-based approaches directly targeting overwintering foci of the flies.
