The literature published during 1970–1981 on tsetse ecology is reviewed. The geographical distribution of some species was affected during the drought of early 1970s. New maps of tsetse distribution in Africa and a few national maps have been published. The habitats of several species have been described in detail, particularly atypical habitats in peridomestic situations. Pupal ecology has not held the attention of ecologists so much; however, pupal duration and mortality have been assessed for a few species. Due to the importance of selective application of insecticides, resting sites and resting behaviour have been described in detail. Activity patterns have been correlated with climatic factors and also with sampling methods. Several works on host-seeking behaviour, flight performance and energy metabolism have been described. Host preferences of certain species have been found to be somewhat different from those previously recorded; and new host species have been discovered. Studies on fat and haematin content showed that these metabolites are useful indices of nutritional status to interpret feeding behaviour in relation to population sampling. A tsetse contact sex-pheromone has been discovered and synthetised; and attempts have been made to use it in the field. Studies on sound production by both sexes under various conditions of light and physiological state are in progress. Comparative studies on sampling techniques have received particular attention; several trap devices have been designed and tested to evaluate the reliability of samples. The determination of the age structure of populations has become more relevant to studies on population dynamics. Attempts have been made to calculate the growth rate of populations. Density-dependent factors started being taken into consideration in the assessment of populations. Several methods have been tried out to estimate population size. New pathogens, parasites and predators have been recorded.
