Thread subject: Diptera.info :: do hippoboscidae attack human?

Posted by Juergen Peters on 30-10-2005 20:03
#6

Hello!

Paul Beuk wrote:
The dear louse fly, Lipoptena cerva is known to occasionally make the mistake to take on a human.


They do it definitely as known from own experience - and not only occasionally. Lipopterna cervi is very frequent here and can be a real pest in autumn - just when one is relieved that the Tabanids like Haematopota pluvialis have disappeared for this year...
On some days the flew on me by the dozen. When they land on my clothing or not very hairy skin parts, most of them realize their mistake and fly away again. But in several cases I have been bitten by individuals who had already stripped their wings. For some strange reason they seem to not only like the hair on my head but especially my elbows (which are not particually hairy ;-)).

insektenfotos.de/Lipoptena%20cervi%20(Hirschlausfliege)_011.jpg