Streblidae

The Streblidae often referred to as the bat flies are a family of two-winged flies (Diptera ); within this they are assigned to the flies ( Brachycera ). Worldwide there are about 250 species of bat flies are known which are mainly located in the tropics and subtropics. Only the type Brachytarsina flavipennis occurs in southern Europe. The animals are small and can reach a height of a few millimeters.

The bat flies are often wingless, with some species also have very well-trained wing and good fliers. The hips ( coxae ) of the animals are very much shifted to the back, so that the legs are spread wide. The head is not covered in the rest position as the bat flies of the family Nycteribiidae to the thorax. Even the eyes are largely regressed or absent. Through several bristle combs and bristles on the body, the attachment is favored in the host. The skin of the bat flying is very tough, so that crushing of the animals with your fingers is hardly possible.

The Streblidae parasitize as ectoparasites on bats and where they feed on the blood of their hosts. You keep this firmly in the fur of the animals. In some species, the host specificity is very pronounced.

Especially the members of the genus Ascodipteron (Australia, India, Africa ) are extremely well adapted to their hosts. You have only wings that they shed at discovery of the host. There they bore themselves with the help of the mouthparts into the skin of the hosts and transform into a bag-like structure, which breathes through the Einbohrstelle and releases the larvae.

System

Often the Streblidae with the Nycteribiidae and the actual louse flies ( Hippoboscidae ) to the louse flies in the broader sense ( Pupipara ) are summarized. All three groups bring larvae to the world that already pupate immediately after birth.