Tsetse-fly
Guides
Hippoboscoidea
Louse Flies, Tsetse Flies, and Allies, Pupipara
Hippoboscoidea is a superfamily of calyptrate flies comprising four families: Glossinidae (tsetse flies), Hippoboscidae (louse flies or ked flies), Nycteribiidae (bat flies), and Streblidae (bat flies). All members are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites of mammals or birds. The superfamily is distinguished by adenotrophic viviparity, in which larvae develop internally and are deposited as fully-formed prepupae. Some members serve as vectors for significant pathogens, including trypanosomes that cause African sleeping sickness and nagana.