Simuliidae
| Vernacular names | |
|---|---|
| • Deutsch: | Kriebelmücken |
| • English: | black flies blackflies |
| • Español: | moscas negras |
| • Français: | mouches noires |
Simuliidae (black flies)
The family contains nearly 2,000 species of blood-sucking flies. The hosts are mainly mammals, including humans and livestock. They can cause painful bites and several species are important disease vectors which transmit pathogens like Onchocerca, Leucocytozoon, Mansonella, Trypanosoma, and Dirofilaria.
They breed in running water. The larvae attach themselves to the substrate with hooks. They have foldable fans around their mouth which is designed to catch floating debris from the water like algae or bacteria. Some species are good fliers, form swarms and can travel up to tens of kilometres from their breeding places, in spite of their small size (typically around 5 mm).
For details see the respective page in Wikipedia.
The following genera are currently entered under Simuliidae:
