[The pyramidal trap for collecting and controlling tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae). Comparative trials and description of new collecting technics].

The pyramidal trap, currently being used in the Congo by the Public Health Service, is between two and five times more efficient than the biconical trap in this country. This is the case in particular for collecting the sleeping sickness vector species Glossina palpalis palpalis and G. fuscips quanzensis. Its simple and robust construction makes this trap ideally suitable for the large scale control of tsetse flies. Its efficiency and ease of transport make it useful for the biologist and the epidemiologist. The authors describe a new collecting technique for killing and preserving flies, that permits a follow-up of the evolution of catches and avoids the use of insecticides. Advantages of this technique are the following: each trap can be moved to more suitable positions within the focus of the disease; the count of trapped flies permits a direct evaluation of the effectiveness of control.