Lesions in haematophagous flies after feeding on rabbits immunized with fly tissues

Stomoxys calcitrans were fed on rabbits previously immunized with various of the fly's tissues. Mortality after 15 days of daily feeding on rabbits immunized with flight muscle proteins was twice that of the control flies fed on an untreated rabbit. Other effects included paralysis of the legs, unequal deposition of the endocuticle, and reduced post‐emergence growth. The intensity of these lesions varied with the fly tissues used to immunize the rabbits; thoracic muscles caused the most damage. The antibodies produced by the rabbits were nonspecific, since feeding on rabbits immunized only with Stomoxys tissues increased mortality in Glossina movsitans also.