Observations on and comparisons of various traps for the collection of Glossinidae and other Diptera in Africa

The relative effectiveness of different types of trap was compared in Upper Volta, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Zambia for the collection of Glossina spp. and other Diptera of medical interest. In general, standard biconical traps [see RAE/B 70, 189, etc.] caught twice as many flies of the species-group of G. palpalis (R.-D.) and G. morsitans centralis Machado as did any other trap, but it caught only low numbers of simuliids (notably Simulium damnosum Theo.) or tabanids. Manitoba traps caught 8 times as many adults of Tabanus taeniola P. de B., T. gratus Lw. and T. par Wlk. as any other trap. G. m. centralis was found to follow a moving vehicle and could be netted from it, but G. palpalis approached man reluctantly. The exact shade of blue for the biconical trap was important for the capture of G. tachinoides Westw. but not for that of G. palpalis. Small numbers of conopids were also caught in biconical traps.