The Adaptation of Bloodsucking Black Flies to Feeding on Warm-blooded Animals

Authors

  • Kateryna Sukhomlin Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University
  • Olexandr Zinchenko Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University
  • Maria Zinchenko Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29038/2617-4723-2017-356-7-158-164

Keywords:

black flies, feeding adaptation, homoiothermal tetrapodes

Abstract

Simuliidae morphological adaptations to suck the blood are combined into several groups: habitus, sensory vesicle of maxillary palp (Lutz’s organ), mouthparts, claws adaptations. Habitus adaptations can be traced in smaller absolute body sizes, relatively large head sizes, reduction of 2–6 abdomen sternites, presence of wide wings. The sensory organ adaptations are associated with a size decrease of the sensory vesicle during the transition from the ornithophilia to the mammalophilia of Simuliidae. Adaptations in the mouthparts structure are associated with the presence of hooks on the labrum, fringes with downward directed spinules on the distal margin of the hypopharynx, developed teeth on the maxillas and mandibles apical margins. The structure of females claws is adapted to various groups of hosts of the blood feeders – birds, mammals. Probably that the initial type of black flies hematophagy was ornithophilia.

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Published

2017-04-04

How to Cite

The Adaptation of Bloodsucking Black Flies to Feeding on Warm-blooded Animals. (2017). Notes in Current Biology, 7(356), 157-163. https://doi.org/10.29038/2617-4723-2017-356-7-158-164