Association of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae), with West Nile virus-infected American white pelicans in Montana

During a WNV epizootic in an American white pelican colony in 2007 in Montana, the biting stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, was observed attacking healthy and WNV-symptomatic pelicans. These observations were unusual because the stable fly, an obligate blood feeder and a serious pest of domestic livestock, humans and companion animals, has rarely been reported to attack or successfully feed on domestic or wild birds. This close association of a non-culicine hematophagous insect with a WNV-susceptible communal nesting bird provided an opportunity to document feeding on a non-mammalian host, describe the feeding damage on moribund pelicans and investigate their potential involvement in WNV transmission.