Wingless-fly

Guides

  • Basilia

    bat flies

    Basilia is a genus of ectoparasitic bat flies in the family Nycteribiidae. These highly specialized dipterans are obligate parasites of bats, exhibiting extreme morphological adaptations for life on mammalian hosts. The genus includes species such as Basilia silvae and Basilia ortizi, which have been documented from South and Central America. Members of this genus are characterized by reduced or absent wings, dorsoventrally flattened bodies, and claws adapted for clinging to host fur.

  • Melophagus ovinus

    Sheep Ked, Sheep Louse Fly, Sheep Tick

    Melophagus ovinus, commonly known as the sheep ked, is a wingless, blood-feeding ectoparasite of domestic sheep. Unlike most flies, females produce one offspring at a time through adenotrophic viviparity—larvae develop internally, feeding on secretions from milk glands, and are deposited as fully-formed prepupae that quickly harden into pupae. Populations exhibit strong seasonality, building rapidly in late winter to peak in April–May, then declining through summer. The species has a cosmopolitan distribution wherever sheep are present and is of veterinary significance, though it is not an effective vector for Anaplasma ovis.

  • Nycteribiidae

    bat flies, nycteribiid bat flies

    Nycteribiidae is a family of Diptera in the superfamily Hippoboscoidea, commonly known as bat flies. These are obligate ectoparasites of bats, feeding exclusively on blood. They exhibit extreme morphological adaptations for parasitism: complete wing loss, highly reduced or absent compound eyes, and a dorsoventrally flattened, spider-like body with backward-folded legs. The family contains approximately 274 described species distributed primarily in the Old World tropics, with some species in the Neotropics and Europe. Most species show high host specificity, often with one-to-one associations with particular bat species.