THE IMPACTS OF FLY MENACE ON LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN A CHANGING CLIMATE: A REVIEW

Livestock Production in India has been showing a steady and strong growth in recent years; milk production has reached a record high of 247.87 million tonnes in 2025 and total meat production rising to 10.50 million tonnes. However, fly menace has become one of the major constraints for the profitable livestock farming in the face of global warming, particularly in tropical countries like India. The rise in temperature and relative humidity directly influences the bionomics of arthropod pest such as frequency of feeding and life cycle duration. The accelerated life cycle results in high intensity of pest population, eventually the fly menace becomes beyond threshold level, causing huge economic losses in dairy and small ruminant production. The losses associated with flymenace include blood loss, reduced milk and meat production by direct injury, and indirectly the arthropod pests cause economic loss through transmission of dreadful diseases caused by virus, bacteria, rickettsia and parasites. The vector and vector borne diseases have long been controlled through various classes of insecticide, but indiscriminate use has led to insecticide resistance. Hence, in this review the common fly species affecting livestock, associated losses and control strategies.