LABORATORY INFECTION AND RELEASE OF SPIROPLASMA (ENTOMOPLASMATALES, SPIROPLASMATACEAE) FROM HORSE FLIES (DIPTERA, TABANIDAE)

Many tabanid flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) are infected with spiroplasmas (Mollicutes: Spiroplasmataceae). Naturally-infected Tabanus gladiator Stone and T. sulcifrons Maquart flies were restrained and fed 10% suc rose to determine the exit points of Spiroplasma from tabanid flies. T he flies were allowed to feed for 24 h, and the resulting oral and ana l specks were cultured in M1D broth. Spiroplasmas were isolated from 2 1 of 51 oral specks but not from 23 anal specks deposited on plastic. In contrast, when anal specks were deposited in a sucrose solution, 9 of 28 anal specks in sucrose yielded spiroplasma cultures. Tabanus lin eola F. and T. longiusculus Hine were offered a culture of Spiroplasma strain EC-1 on a stewed raisin or in 5% sucrose in the form of a hang ing drop. After 4 d, the minced abdominal viscera of each fly were inc ubated in M1D broth and 25 of 32 tabanids yielded cultures of Spiropla sma.