It doesn’t buzz. It doesn’t sting. And it barely flies. Yet once it lands on you… good luck ge

We report the first confirmed case of a human being bitten by the parasitic forest fly Hippobosca equina (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) Linnaeus, in Slovakia. The incident involved atypically aggressive behaviour of the fly toward the human host and suggests a potentially underestimated health risk for humans. A single specimen of H. equina responsible for the bite was identified and subjected to molecular analyses to assess the presence of zoonotic pathogens. DNA of Bartonella schoenbuchensis...

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The forest fly (Hippobosca equina) is an obligate haematophagous dipteran insect (order Diptera) that primarily infests horses and may contribute to the circulation of vector-borne pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Babesia caballi, and Theileria equi, important vector-borne pathogens of equids, in forest flies collected from horses in endemic areas of Spain. A total of 170 forest flies were collected from 39 equids across four geographical regions in Spain (Segovia, Madrid, Toledo, and Menorca) and blood samples were collected from 27 of these horses. All flies were morphologically and molecularly identified as H. equina, and DNA extracted from flies and equine blood was screened using multiplex real-time and nested PCR, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Neither flies nor horses tested positive for A. phagocytophilum, whereas one fly was positive for B. burgdorferi s.l. (0.6%). In contrast, T. equi and B. caballi DNA were detected in 11.2% and 1.2% of flies, respectively, and all positive flies were collected from horses positive for equine piroplasmosis (T. equi/B. caballi infection), with identical 18S rRNA sequences between hosts and flies. Nested PCR showed a higher detection rate than real-time PCR for the detection of these piroplasms in flies and blood samples. These findings provide the first molecular evidence of EP pathogens in H. equina and support further investigation into the epidemiological importance of forest flies in equine pathogen surveillance.

The forest fly (Hippobosca equina) is an obligate haematophagous dipteran insect (order Diptera) that primarily infests horses and may contribute to the circulation of vector-borne pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Babesia caballi, and Theileria equi, important vector-borne pathogens of equids, in forest flies collected from horses in endemic areas of Spain. A total of 170 forest flies were collected from 39 equids across four geographical regions in Spain (Segovia, Madrid, Toledo, and Menorca) and blood samples were collected from 27 of these horses. All flies were morphologically and molecularly identified as H. equina, and DNA extracted from flies and equine blood was screened using multiplex real-time and nested PCR, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Neither flies nor horses tested positive for A. phagocytophilum, whereas one fly was positive for B. burgdorferi s.l. (0.6%). In contrast, T. equi and B. caballi DNA were detected in 11.2% and 1.2% of flies, respectively, and all positive flies were collected from horses positive for equine piroplasmosis (T. equi/B. caballi infection), with identical 18S rRNA sequences between hosts and flies. Nested PCR showed a higher detection rate than real-time PCR for the detection of these piroplasms in flies and blood samples. These findings provide the first molecular evidence of EP pathogens in H. equina and support further investigation into the epidemiological importance of forest flies in equine pathogen surveillance.

Hippobosca equina, a common ectoparasite of horses, poses a significant challenge to equine health worldwide. This study provides a molecular characterization of H. equina and examines its impact on host immune responses and oxidative stress. Genetic analysis of samples from various regions revealed notable homogeneity, indicating limited genetic variation among populations. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated close genetic relationships among sequences from Egypt, France, Kazakhstan and...

Hippobosca longipennis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) is an obligate hematophagous ectoparasite that infests a wide range of vertebrate hosts across Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It is a potential...

Hippobosca longipennis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) is an obligate hematophagous ectoparasite that infests a wide range of vertebrate hosts across Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It is a potential...

PubMed link

Une équipe de chercheurs marocains et allemands confirme, pour la première fois, la présence au Maroc de la mouche Hippobosca longipennis, un parasite potentiellement vecteur de maladies chez les chiens… et l’humain.   Zoubida Senoussimercredi 28 mai 2025 - 23:50   First molecular confirmation of the presence of Hippobosca longipennis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) and infestation of sheltered dogs in Morocco | Parasites & Vectors, 27.05.2025 https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-025-06830-y  

78 specimens of hippoboscids have been collected in Saudi Arabia from five hosts. In addition, five freeliving specimens were collected. The specimens involved belong to Hippobosca camelina, H.longipennis, H. variegata, Pseudolynchia canari...

78 specimens of hippoboscids have been collected in Saudi Arabia from five hosts. In addition, five freeliving specimens were collected. The specimens involved belong to Hippobosca camelina, H.longipennis, H. variegata, Pseudolynchia canari...

CONCLUSION: This study generated two genome assemblies for Hippobosca camelina. Both are smaller in size compared to Melophagus ovinus (Zhang et al., BMC Genomics 24, 2023) and Glossina morsitans (Watanabe et al., Science 344:380-6, 2014 ). The Hippobosca assemblies have a lower repeat content compared to G. morsitans and M. ovinus, a phenomenon that may explain the reduced assembly size. A total of 44 chemosensory genes for H. camelina were annotated. The obligate parasitic lifestyle, limited...