Introduction
The louse flies belong to the order Diptera (subsection Brachycera). Various authors put them in the section Pupipara together with the Nycteribiidae (bat flies) and Streblidae, which all are permanent, obligate ectoparasites which suck blood from mammals and birds (Haupt and Haupt 1998; Hutson 1984; Schumann 2000). Both males and females stay on the host and mating occurs on the host. The females are larviparous and nurture single larvae internally within 3–8 days. The pupation takes place directly after the mature larvae are released by the females (Hutson 1984). The Hippoboscidae are closely related to the Glossinidae.
Hippoboscidae: Host Specificity
More than 200 species of louse flies are known until now. 75 % are associated to birds, and 25 % live on mammals mostly on even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). The species which life on birds are commonly called flat flies or louse flies. The species which are found on mammals are known as ked flies. Most species are...
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References
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Pospischil, R. (2015). Hippoboscidae, Louse Flies/Keds. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_1465-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_1465-2
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