Post-feed buzzing in the tsetse, Glossina morsitans morsitans, is an endothermic mechanism

ABSTRACT. Post-feed buzzing in Glossina morsitans morsitans Westw. causes a rise in thoracic temperature relative to the length of the buzz. As lift is proportional to the square of wing-beat frequency, which increases with temperature up to 32°C, buzzing results in an increase in the lift which the fly can produce. Heat generated by buzzing, in combination with the heat received from the host at the time of feeding, may well allow the fly to maximize lift generated in the immediate post-feeding period. Buzzing flies excrete excess water from the meal more rapidly than non-buzzing flies. It is argued that this is due to a rise in abdominal temperature. Maximized lift in the immediate post-feeding period and the rapid elimination of water from the very large blood meals taken by these flies may be expected to have strong selective advantages for the flies.