Inhibition of development of Ostertagia ostertagi – effect of temperature on the infective larval stage

SUMMARYPopulations of Ostertagia ostertagi established from fresh larvae and from larvae stored at 4 °C for up to 12 weeks contained about 10% inhibited early 4th-stage larvae. This value rose to 21% after 16 weeks, due to an increase in numbers of inhibited larvae while adult numbers remained unchanged. Storage at 15 °C had no effect. In the case of larvae stored at 4 °C for 8 weeks, increasing the larval dose to 90000 had no significant effect on the proportion of the dose which was inhibited. The response to low temperature storage was much weaker than in previously reported studies on British populations, which accords with our earlier conclusion that low temperature cannot be the effective stimulus for inhibition in Australia.