Morphological adaptations and food chains of preimaginal stages of <i>Wohlfahrtia magnifica</i> Schiner, 1862 (Diptera, Sarcophagidae). Structure functional organization of the parasitic system in wolfarthiosis of sheep

Abstract

The purpose of the research is the study of morpho-biological characteristics and food chains of the preimaginal stages of Wohlfahrtia magnifica, pathogens of obligate tissue myiasis in sheep.Materials and methods. The studies were performed on sheep farms of various forms of ownership in the steppe zone of the Stavropol Territory. We determined the prevalence and intensity rates of W. magnifica infection and causes of wolfarthiosis spreading. The number and behavioral responses of W. magnifica imagoes were studied in grazing and stationary management of sheep. We took into account the life expectancy and ecological plasticity rates of W. magnifica adults and larvae. The fecundity of females was determined by manual preparation under an MBS-I microscope. The myiasis development process and preimaginal development of parasitic W. magnifica larvae were studied in spontaneous and artificial infection of sheep. Clinical studies of animals were performed according to generally accepted methods.Results and discussion. The results of the studies made it possible to establish that the preimaginal development of W. magnifica Schiner, 1862 in the host is characterized by the cooperation of parasitic larvae during the myiasis development and by a complex of morphological and physiological adaptations associated with changes in the external and internal structure of parasites and in the functioning of the systems of their organs. The pathogenic effect of the parasite on the host (primary, or specific) is due to its morphophysiological characteristics. The phenomenon of extraintestinal digestion in the W. magnifica larvae was described. Nutrition is the basis of symbiosis and parasitism, and knowledge of the mechanisms by which parasites absorb and partially utilize nutrients is fundamental to understanding parasitism and parasite-host relationships.

Keywords

• wohlfahrtia magnifica
• parasitic larvae
• food chains
• morphological adaptations