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What the sources say

Tsetse FlyGlossina morsitans

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Tsetse Fly profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 39 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Fraumann 2003

Fraumann (2003). Glossina morsitans. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

The page saysA blood-drinking fly that makes milk and gives birth to a larva nearly as big as she is.
The source says'Milk' glands from the mother's reproductive tract provide nourishment during this time ... the female deposits the larva, which is nearly as big as the adult into a suitable environment of loose soilNote: tagline; 'blood-drinking' is the Food Habits line: Both sexes feed exclusively on blood
The page saysSavanna and shaded woodland in the lowlands of Africa
The source sayscan be found in savannah during the wet season, but in the dry season prefers shaded wooded areas. They always remain in the lowlandsNote: stats.habitat; Africa from 'is found in Africa'
The page saysFeeds its young on "milk" from glands inside the mother
The source says"Milk" glands from the mother's reproductive tract provide nourishment during this time.Note: stats.superpower
The page saysNot Evaluated
The source saysIUCN Red List No special statusNote: stats.conservationStatus. Prefetch (2026-10-11) found no Red List assessment DOI for Glossina morsitans: GBIF's copy of the Red List holds no category for the name and Crossref has no assessment. ADW lists no IUCN status. The body makes no status claim, so no IUCN reference is cited.
The page saysA female Glossina morsitans does not lay eggs.
The source saysafter fertilization the embryo is kept within the females uterus. While still in utero, the embryo develops into the first juvenile stage and hatches.Note: species scope: ADW is the G. morsitans account; the embryo hatches inside the uterus
The page saysAnimal Diversity Web says the embryo stays in her uterus, hatches there and is fed by "milk" glands in her reproductive tract.
The source saysWhile still in utero, the embryo develops into the first juvenile stage and hatches. The larvae pass through the first, second, and third larval instars ... "Milk" glands from the mother's reproductive tract provide nourishment during this time.
The page saysThe larva (the young, grub-like stage) is nearly as big as the adult when she drops it onto loose soil.
The source saysthe female deposits the larva, which is nearly as big as the adult into a suitable environment of loose soil.
The page saysIt has about an hour to dig in, then turns black and forms a hard case called a puparium.
The source saysthe larva has about an hour in which to dig underground. Once under the soil the larva turns black and forms a puparium that hardens over the next four days.
The page saysPupae stay underground for about a month.
The source saysPupae remain underground for about a month.
The page saysThe mother must take three blood meals to raise one young.
The source saysThe adult female must have three blood meals in order to sustain a single progeny.
The page saysAn adult G. morsitans is 7.5 to 14 millimetres long and brownish grey.
The source saysGlossina morsitans is 7.5 to 14 millimeters long and is brownish gray in color.
The page saysBoth sexes feed exclusively on blood.
The source saysBoth sexes feed exclusively on blood and produce anticoagulants to prevent clotting.
The page saysThey make anticoagulants, chemicals that stop clotting.
The source saysproduce anticoagulants to prevent clotting
The page saysThe fly feeds in the daytime, is drawn to moving objects and reacts to the carbon dioxide animals breathe out.
The source saysis solely a daytime feeder which is attracted to moving objects visually, but also has an acute sense of smell. They respond to CO2 produced by the exhalation of animals.
The page saysIt is active only between 18 and 32 degrees Celsius.
The source saysare diurnal, and only active between the temperatures of 18-32°C.
The page saysAnimal Diversity Web places the species in Africa, in savanna in the wet season and shaded woodland in the dry season, always in the lowlands.
The source saysis found in Africa ... can be found in savannah during the wet season, but in the dry season prefers shaded wooded areas. They always remain in the lowlands

Source
02

Chigusa et al. 1997

Chigusa et al. (1997). Relationship between longevity and body weight in Glossina morsitans morsitans. Medical Entomology and Zoology.

The page saysIn a lab colony of the subspecies G. m. morsitans, one-day-old adults averaged 20.4 milligrams for males and 22.0 for females.
The source says1-day-old male adults, 20.4mg. The equivalent weights of females were 29.9,26.3 and 22.0mg, respectively.
The page saysAt 25 degrees Celsius, males in that colony lived 145.9 days on average, with a range of 9 to 241 days, and females lived 131.1 days, with a range of 4 to 208.
The source saystemperature 25±1℃ ... The length of life of male adults (n=93) was 145.9±51.4 days, (m±SD) range 9 to 241 days, and that of female adults (n=73) was 131.1±58.3,range 4 to 208 days.
The page saysThose are lab-reared flies, not wild ones.
The source saysThe fiies were subsequently reared in the insectary of the Department of Parasitology, Aichi Medical UniversityNote: colony from ICIPE, Nairobi, reared in a university insectary at 25 degrees; quote keeps the source OCR "fiies"

Source
03

International Glossina Genome Initiative et al. 2014

International Glossina Genome Initiative et al. (2014). Genome Sequence of the Tsetse Fly ( Glossina morsitans ): Vector of African Trypanosomiasis. Science.

The page saysScientists who sequenced the tsetse genome report that flies of the genus Glossina take a blood meal almost equivalent to their own weight, and quickly pass out the excess water.
The source saysGlossina takes a blood meal that is almost equivalent to its own weight, and excess water is rapidly excreted by means of the Aquaporin family of transport proteinsNote: genus scope stated in the sentence
The page saysTsetse flies pass on the parasites that cause sleeping sickness in people and nagana in livestock.
The source saysAfrican trypanosomiasis is transmitted by the tsetse fly to humans (sleeping sickness) and livestock (nagana) throughout sub-Saharan Africa
The page saysIn 2014 the genome team put the number of people at risk of infection in sub-Saharan Africa at an estimated 70 million.
The source saysthroughout sub-Saharan Africa, with an estimated 70 million people at risk of infectionNote: dated to the 2014 source rather than stated as a current figure
The page saysThe tsetse genome team reports that females can go through milk production 8 to 10 times in their lives without signs that their reproduction is wearing out.
The source saysfemales can undergo this process 8 to 10 times during their life spans without evidence of reproductive senescenceNote: the process is lactation; the sentence is about tsetse females
The page saysThe team sequenced the subspecies G. m. morsitans, but states this of tsetse females in general.
The source sayswe describe the sequence and annotation of the 366-megabase Glossina morsitans morsitans genome
The page saysA tsetse fly takes a blood meal almost as heavy as itself, then quickly passes out the extra water
The source saysGlossina takes a blood meal that is almost equivalent to its own weight, and excess water is rapidly excretedNote: vibe.reason
The page saysdangerLevel: Deadly
The source saysHuman infections are fatal if untreatedNote: stats.dangerLevel; the fly bites, the trypanosome it transmits kills

Source
04

Weiss, Wang & Aksoy 2011

Weiss, Wang & Aksoy (2011). Tsetse Immune System Maturation Requires the Presence of Obligate Symbionts in Larvae. PLoS Biology.

The page saysIn lab work on G. morsitans, flies raised without the bacterium Wigglesworthia glossinidia as larvae grew into adults that were sterile and highly susceptible to E. coli infections of the body cavity.
The source saysSuch offspring give rise to adults that exhibit a largely normal phenotype, with the exception being that they are reproductively sterile. Our results indicate that when reared under normal environmental conditions Gmm Wgm − adults are also immuno-compromised and highly susceptible to hemocoelic E. coli infectionsNote: Gmm is G. m. morsitans, the lab strain; the study text says 'the tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans'
The page saysNormal adults of the same age resisted them.
The source saysage-matched wild-type individuals are refractory

Source
05

Attardo et al. 2008

Attardo et al. (2008). Analysis of milk gland structure and function in Glossina morsitans: Milk protein production, symbiont populations and fecundity. Journal of Insect Physiology.

The page saysA study of the milk gland in Glossina morsitans calls it the tissue that passes nutrients and partner bacteria from mother to offspring.
The source saysthe transfer of essential nutrients and bacterial symbionts from mother to intrauterine offspring. The tissue mediating this transfer is the milk gland.

Source
06

Clausen et al. 1998

Clausen et al. (1998). Host preferences of tsetse (Diptera: Glossinidae) based on bloodmeal identifications. Medical and Veterinary Entomology.

The page saysBlood, mainly from warthogs and other pig-family animals
The source saysGlossina morsitans ssp. fed mainly on Suidae (mainly warthog)Note: stats.diet; Suidae is the pig family
The page saysA survey tested the blood in the guts of 29,245 wild-caught flies of eleven Glossina species.
The source saysidentify the origin of vertebrate blood in the guts of 29 245 wild-caught flies of eleven Glossina species
The page saysThe morsitans flies in it fed mainly on members of the pig family, mostly warthog.
The source saysGlossina morsitans ssp. fed mainly on Suidae (mainly warthog)
The page saysIn some areas hippopotamus or ruminants (cud-chewing animals such as cattle) replaced the warthog.
The source saysin some areas hippopotamus or ruminants replaced the warthog as the main host

Source
07

Muyobela et al. 2025

Muyobela et al. (2025). Developing a national atlas to support the progressive control of tsetse-transmitted animal trypanosomosis in Zambia. Parasites & Vectors.

The page saysin south-eastern Zambia
The source saysThe south-eastern part of the country is infested with G. m. morsitans
The page saysIn Zambia, researchers call G. morsitans the major vector, or carrier, of both the animal and the human forms of the disease.
The source saysG. morsitans is the major vector of both AAT and HAT in ZambiaNote: AAT is animal African trypanosomosis and HAT human African trypanosomiasis, both defined in the paper
The page saysZambian researchers list six species and subspecies.
The source saysSix species and subspecies of the tsetse fly have been identified in these belts
The page saysGlossina morsitans is the most widely spread of them.
The source saysGlossina morsitans is the most widely distributed species, covering the entire infested range of the country
The page saysThe subspecies G. m. morsitans lives in the south-east, in the Luangwa-Lunsemfwa and Lower Zambezi tsetse belts, and G. m. centralis in the north-west.
The source saysThe south-eastern part of the country is infested with G. m. morsitans (i.e. in the Luangwa-Lunsemfwa and Lower Zambezi tsetse belts). In contrast, G. m. centralis occurs in the north-western part of the country

Source
08

Shereni et al. 2021

Shereni et al. (2021). An atlas of tsetse and animal African trypanosomiasis in Zimbabwe. Parasites & Vectors.

The page saysIn atlases of Zimbabwe and Zambia, the subspecies G. m. morsitans turned up in Zimbabwe's north and northwest and in south-eastern Zambia.
The source saysGlossina morsitans morsitans (17.3%) were the two tsetse species recorded in the north and northwest parts of the country.Note: Zimbabwe half; the Zambia half is the next claim

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.