Abstract
The list of all known locality and host records from the literature on louse flies from Slovakia are summarized, with the addition of new collection data. New locality data are provided for five species. Three species are added to the Slovakian list: Icostaminor (Bigot in Thomson, 1858), which was erroneously cited for Moravia instead of Slovakia in the previous checklist, and Ornithophilametallica (Schiner, 1864) and Ornithomyachloropus (Bergroth, 1901), which were overlooked from the last checklist. As a result, the louse fly fauna of Slovakia increases to 19 species: 12 autochtonous species and seven rare, non-native species only occasionally imported to Slovakia or migrating to the country with their hosts. This is by far the largest regional fauna of Hippoboscidae in Central Europe, and matches the richest southern European faunas. In total, 78 host-parasite associations concerning 46 bird-host species from eight orders and nine species of mammals, including humans, have been found from a literature review in Slovakia. Two host-parasite associations are reported from Slovakia for the first time: Ornithomyaavicularia (Linnaeus, 1758) on Prunellamodularis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Aves: Prunellidae) and Lipoptenafortisetosa Maa, 1965 on Homosapiens Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Hominidae).
Highlights
Flies in the family Hippoboscidae, known as ‘louse flies’ or ‘keds’, belong among the Diptera and are a group of obligate parasites of mammals and birds (Rahola et al 2011)
Melophagus ovinus is strongly affected by a decline of traditional horse and sheep farming in the monitored area (e.g., Bezák and Petrovič 2006)
We have critically evaluated all available data on the occurrence of the family Hippoboscidae in Slovakia, and published data are completed with new collection data and unpublished localities
Summary
Flies in the family Hippoboscidae, known as ‘louse flies’ or ‘keds’, belong among the Diptera and are a group of obligate parasites of mammals and birds (Rahola et al 2011). The larva (or pupa) is deposited in birds’ nests or on the hair of a mammalian host, but sometimes it is deposited on the ground by the female (e.g., Halos et al 2004). Adults of both sexes are blood sucking and are known to act as vectors of many infectious agents, such as protozoa, bacteria, helminths, and possibly viruses (e.g., Baker 1967, Kečera 1983, Halos et al 2004, Liu et al 2016, Skvarla and Machtinger 2019). Some species are host-specific, whereas others feed on a wide array of hosts (e.g., Ibáñez-Bernal et al 2015, Mehlhorn 2016, Veiga et al 2018)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
