''Hippobosca equina'', also known as the forest fly or

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

fly, is a biting

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

from the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Hippoboscidae __NOTOC__ Hippoboscidae, the louse flies or keds, are obligate parasites of mammals and birds. In this family, the winged species can fly at least reasonably well, though others with vestigial or no wings are flightless and highly apomorphic. As ...

. They are blood-feeding

ectoparasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

s of primarily

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s and other large mammals including

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

. It is a permanently fully winged fly, not shedding its wings on finding its host, as in some other Hippoboscidae. With its wings retained, it may thus fly away from its host to deposit its

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e. They are good fliers.

Description

Wing length . Generally pale reddish brown with yellow spots on the indistinctly segmented abdomen. They have one pair of sub-triangular wings and the wing veins are crowded together towards the anterior border. The characteristic feature of these flies is that they move sidewards and they feed preferably between the hind legs and on the perineum region.

Distribution

The primary distribution is in Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. It has been introduced to other locations, though in some cases latter eradicated by modern husbandry practices. In the United Kingdom they are known primarily from the

and increasingly from South

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. There are occasionally recorded from other part of the UK, though some reports as far north as the Scottish borders are considered dubious. In the United Kingdom, their flight period is from May to October, but peaking August and early September.

Hosts

Their primary host are

equine Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, known from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They originated in North America, before dispersing to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. They are ...

s; they are often also frequently found on

on which they are able to maintain a population. They have been known to bite a number of other mammals, including sheep and goats. Though it is actively attracted to humans and will land, it does not often bite them. Other mammals it may also live on are

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

and rabbit. Also on birds: the

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia, and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...

, and the

northern goshawk The northern goshawk has been split into two species based on significant morphological and genetic differences: * Eurasian goshawk The Eurasian goshawk (; ''Astur gentilis'', formerly ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of ...

. They have been fed and bred on

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the ani ...

s in the laboratory.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2302603 Parasitic flies Parasites of equines Ectoparasites Hippoboscidae Diptera of North America Diptera of Africa Diptera of Asia Diptera of Europe Diptera of Australasia Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Insects described in 1758