Simuliidae

Simuliidae [‚sim·yə′lī·ə‚dē]

(invertebrate zoology)

The black flies, a family of orthorrhaphous dipteran insects in the series Nematocera.

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Simuliidae 

(blackflies), a family of bloodsucking dipterous insects. The body length ranges from 1.5 to 7 mm. There are more than 1,200 species, distributed everywhere, from the tundra to the deserts. More than 300 species are found in the USSR. Blackflies usually winter in the egg phase; rarely do they winter in the larval one. They bear one to three or four generations a year. The larva and pupa develop in water, primarily in flowing water. Adults live outside the water. The males feed on plant juices, while the females are generally bloodsuckers. The insects are most active in the morning and evening. Their saliva is toxic.

Blackflies are carriers of the causative agents of helminthiases of man and animals (for example, onchocerciasis), as well as of leucocytozoon diseases of chickens, geese, ducks, pigeons, and turkeys. They are nonspecific carriers of the causative agents of a number of infectious diseases of man (for example, tularemia). Measures of individual protection include the use of curtains and nets treated with repellents. The larvae can be destroyed by using emulsions of insecticides.

REFERENCES

Rubtsov, I. A. Moshki (semeistvo Simuliidae), 2nd ed. Moscow-Leningrad, 1956. (Fauna SSSR: Nasekomye dvukrylye, vol. 6, issue 6.)
Pavlovskii, E. N. Zashchita ot gnusa (komarov, moshek, moskitov, slepnei, i dr.). Moscow-Leningrad, 1941.

I. A. RUBTSOV