1987 | England | Documentary

The life cycle of the tsetse fly, Pt. 2 of 2

  • English 4 mins
  • Director | Douglas Fisher
  • Writer | Dr. L.G. Goodwin, F.R.S.
  • Producer | -

STATUS: Released

This film is currently not available.   

The larvae burrows itself head first into the soil. The buried larvae is shown in a time-lapse sequence pupating into a black puparium. An x-ray of it shows the two moults that take place in the pupae; the first producing the pupa, the second the imago. A man in woodland collects tsetse flies for laboratory work. We are shown in close-up how the imago breaks the anterior end of the puparium and struggles out underground, then crawls to the surface. A further time-lapse sequence shows the imago at rest while its wing veins fill with fluid, then dry out. The fly searches for a new host and the life cycle is complete.

Tsetse Life Cycle Pupation Time Lapse Entomology
Film Organizations
Wellcome Trust
DISTRIBUTION