Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#704940
Hippoboscidae? - Icosta

Hippoboscidae? - Icosta
Montpelier, Washington County, Vermont, USA
September 17, 2012
has a strong affinity towards flying onto skin... found in the office at North Branch Nature Center when it flew onto someone. Then, while photographing, given the chance of escape it decided to fly onto my hand. Looks a lot like the flies we sometimes find here on birds while banding them.

Images of this individual: tag all
Hippoboscidae? - Icosta Hippoboscidae? - Icosta Hippoboscidae? - Icosta Hippoboscidae? - Icosta

Moved
Moved from Louse Flies.

From the pronounced conical projections on "shoulders" of thorax (best seen in last image of series), overall gestalt, and bird-banding context...this is in subfamily Ornithomyinae. It keys in MND(1) to Icosta...some salient key characters are:

  Inner vertical bristle not arising from a nipple-like tubercle; and no ocelli (...eliminating Ornithoica);
  Antennae distinctly shorter than palpi (= visible mouthparts here);
  Scutellum with a pair of strong preapical bristles (...eliminating Olfersia);
  Wing with crossveins r-m and dm-cu present (latter best see here).

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Hippoboscid
for sure. Knowing the host species would help in narrowing down the possible IDs. Probably liked your hand for warmth and maybe you recently handled it's preferred host. When banding, try spreading the wing and tail feathers to get the flies moving and guide them towards the feather tips and then into a suitable container.

 
Thanks, Kerry
We band songbirds on the property. We've never caught a pigeon or dove, but we've caught over 30 other species. Sometimes hippoboscids come shooting off birds while we're banding them, so it's possible the fly hitchhiked back into the office on clothing or gear. I'll see if I can grab/jar a fly next time we band, that way I know the host-species.

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.