Maintenance of Glossina palpalis fed through bat's wing membrane on defibrinated blood

Teneral laboratory-bred Glossina palpalis flies were successfully fed through bat's wing membrane on defibrinated blood by means of a technique developed in this laboratory. Using this technique almost 100% of the flies engorged blood through the membrane. Ten to fifteen flies were kept in Standard 'Geigy 10' or 'Geigy 15' cages and records were kept of mortality and the weights of the pupae produced; over 78% of the flies were still after 60 days of the experiment. Over 75% of the membrane-fed G. palpalis females produced pupae in the first 30 days of the females' reproductive life. The mean weight of the pupae produced by the membrane-fed flies was 24.9 mg. The results indicate that membranes made from the African fruit bat wings are usable, and that this type of membrane would be valuable for a medium scale rearing programme for tsetse flies.