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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Calyptratae » Hippoboscoidea » Bat Flies (Streblidae)

Family Streblidae - Bat Flies

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Range · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Works Cited

Trichobius sphaeronotus (Diptera: Streblidae)

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Diptera (Flies)

No Taxon (Calyptratae)

Superfamily Hippoboscoidea

Family Streblidae (Bat Flies)

Other Common Names

Streblid Bat Flies

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

often treated as a subfamily of Hippoboscidae

Explanation of Names

Streblidae Kolenati 1863

Numbers

5 or 8 spp. in 3-4 genera in our area, depending on source(1)(2), ~240 spp. in 33 genera of 5 subfamilies total(3)(4)

Our fauna(2)

Nycterophilia 2 spp., sw. US

Paratrichobius 1 sp., Arizona

Trichobius 5 spp., widespread

Strebla -- Neotropical genus listed in(2) as potential strays into our region

Size

2-3 mm(1); globally, most spp. 1.5-2.5 mm (some neotropical spp. 0.75-5.0 mm)(4)

Range

worldwide; 3 subfamilies restricted to the New World, 2 to the Old World(3)

Habitat

Ectoparasitic on bats (one Old World genus actually has females that imbed themselves and become endoparasites)(2)

Food

Bat blood; the New World streblids tend to be host-specific and adapted to particular areas of host body (wing membrane, head, trunk...); most host species have at least 2 associated streblid spp.(4)

Life Cycle

larviparous; larva usually deposited on the host(4)

Works Cited

1.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

2.	Manual of Nearctic Diptera Volume 2 Varies for each chapter; edited by J.F. McAlpine, B.V. Petersen, G.E. Shewell, H.J. Teskey, J.R. Vockeroth, D.M. Wood. 1987. Research Branch Agriculture Canada.

3.	Checklist of World Streblidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) Dick C.W., Graciolli G. 2013.

4.	Medical and Veterinary Entomology Gary Mullen, Lance Durden. 2002. Academic Press.

Contributed by John F. Carr on 14 April, 2010 - 7:32pm
Additional contributions by Bbarnd, v belov
Last updated 29 July, 2019 - 12:51pm

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