A Survey for Biting Flies in three Local Government Areas of Taraba State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of biting flies from Gashaka, Ibi and Karim Lamido Local Government Areas (LGA) of Taraba State between July and August, 2010 using biconical traps, and identify them using morphological characteristics. Of the 908 biting flies collected from the traps 37.9% (344/908) were Tabanus, 25.9% (235/908) were Haematopota, 24.5% (223/908) were Chrysops, and 11.7% (106/908) were Glossina. Based on the LGAs sampled, the distribution of the flies in Gashaka, Ibi, and Karim Lamido (K/Lamido) were 44.6% (419/908), 21.9% (199/908), and 33.5% (290/908) respectively (p<0.05). An infection rate of 1.89% (2/106) was observed among the tsetse flies trapped. Two species of tsetse flies were identified as Glossina palpalis representing 67.9% (72/106) and Glossina tachinoides 32.1% (34/106). In conclusion, Tabanids had the highest distribution while Glossina had the lowest distribution across the three (3) LGAs of the State.