Diversity and contribution of the intestinal bacterial community to the development of Musca domestica (Diptera : Muscidae) larvae

The bacterial diversity in the intestinal tract of Musca domestica L. was e xamined in larvae collected from turkey bedding and corn silage. Aerobic cu lturing yielded 25 bacterial species, including II from larvae collected fr om turkey bedding and 14 from larvae collected from corn silage. Providenci a rettgeri (Hadley,Elkins & Caldwell) was the only species common to both e nvironments. Two mammalian pathogens, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (Pfeiffer ) and Ochrobactrum anthropi (Holmes), were isolated from the larval intesti nal tracts. The majority of isolates represented facultatively anaerobic he terotrophs capable of fermentation. The significance of these bacteria for development of house By larvae was evaluated by bioassays on trypticase soy egg yolk agar. Pure cultures of individual bacterial species isolated from the intestinal tract of larvae from turkey bedding supported development o f flies to a much greater extent than those isolated from larvae from corn silage. House fly development was best supported by a Streptococcus sanguis (White) isolate The significance of bacteria for development of house flie s is discussed.