Key: Northwestern European Hippoboscidae
Based on Hutson (1984).
References
Hutson, A.M., 1984. Keds, flat-flies and bat-flies. Diptera, Hippoboscidae and Nycteribiidae. - Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 10(7): 1-40. Petersen, F.T., J. Damgaard & R. Meier, 2007. DNA taxonomy: How many DNA sequences are needed for solving a taxonomic problem? The case of two parapatric species of louse flies (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Ornithomya Latreille, 1802). - Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny 65(2): 119-125. (PDF)
Last modified 21/01/2010 02:24 by Paul Beuk	No of couplets: 15

Key (online version)
1a	Wings fully developed and functional [Fig. 120] [Fig. 121] [Fig. 125] [Fig. 128].	2
b	Wings reduced or absent (either by reduction or by loss) [Fig. 123] [Fig. 124] [Fig. 126] [Fig. 127].	13
2a	Tarsal claws simple, but with a pale basal lobe [Fig. 136]; humeral callus weak, not produced horn-like along side of head [Fig. 125] [Fig. 126] [Fig. 127] [Fig. 128].	3
b	Tarsal claws bifid and with a pale basal tooth [Fig. 135]; humeral callus strong and horn-like along side of head [Fig. 120] [Fig. 123] [Fig. 124] [Fig. 141] [Fig. 142]; on birds.	5
3a	Wing with one or two cross-veins [Fig. 128] [Fig. 125]; R4+5 well separated from C until apex; on mammals.	4
b	Wings with three cross-veins enclosing cells posterior to the radial veins (compare with [Fig. 120]); apical half of R4+5 running very close to C; on birds. Ornithoica turdi (Olivier in Latreille, 1812)
4a	Wing clear and hyaline, with only one cross-vein; head much broader than long [Fig. 125]; thorax markedly flattened; on deer. Lipoptena cervi (Linnaeus, 1758)
b	Wing distinctly crenulated and tinted, with two cross-veins; head not much broader than long [Fig. 128]; thorax not so markedly flattened; on horses. Hippobosca equina Linnaeus, 1758
5a	Wing with three cross-veins posterior to radial veins [Fig. 120] [Fig. 121] [Fig. 129] [Fig. 130] [Fig. 131] [Fig. 132]; vein Cu+1A well developed, like 2A; scutellum with four or more strong setae.	6
b	Wing with one or two cross-veins posterior to the radius; vein Cu+1A poorly developed, hardly visible at base [Fig. 133] [Fig. 134]; scutellum at most with two strong setae.	11
6a	Vein R2+3 with apical 3/5 fused with C; wing membrane entirely bare. Ornithophila metallica (Schiner, 1864)
b	Vein R2+3 well separated from C except at apex; wing membrane usually with microtrichia [Fig. 120] [Fig. 121] [Fig. 129] [Fig. 130] [Fig. 131].	7
7a	Antennae small and narrow, much longer than broad [Fig. 120] [Fig. 141]; axillary cord fringed with soft pale hairs [Fig. 137] [Fig. 138].	8
b	Antennae large and very broad, at most twice as long as broad; axillary cord fringed with strong black setae [Fig. 140]. Ornithoctona laticornis (Macquart)
8a	Wings with macrotrichia more or less uniformly in apical half, cell r3 and 1m without distinct bare stripes [Fig. 131]; eye smaller (postorbit not shorter than greatest width of inner orbit, eye not longer than greatest interocular distance); ocelli small; scutellar setae not confined to a single transverse row near posterior margin [Fig. 141]. Ornithomya biloba Dufour, 1827
b	Wing macrotrichia restricted in apical half of wing, bare stripes preent in cell 1m and usually 3r [Fig. 120] [Fig. 121] [Fig. 129] [Fig. 130]; eye larger (postorbit shorter than greatest width of inner orbit; eyes longer than greatest interocular distance); ocelli large and conspicuous [Fig. 120]; scutellum with a distinct row of 4-8(-10) setae near posterior margin only [Fig. 120] [Fig. 137] [Fig. 138].	9
9a	Larger species, wing length 5.5-7.0 mm; scutellum with a row of 8(-10) setae; head and thorax pale; wing setulae reduced to leave a large area in cell 3r clear [Fig. 120]. Ornithomya avicularia (Linnaeus, 1758)
b	Smaller species, wing length less than 5.5 mm; scutellum with row of 4-6 setae [Fig. 137] [Fig. 138].	10
10a	Ventral part of head with genae virtually always entirely pale. [Previously a number of other characters were used, but only the above character was shown to be reliable by Petersen et al. (2007): Wing length 3.5-4.5 mm; scutellum with row of 4 setae [Fig. 137]; head and thorax pale; cell 3r less setulose with large clear area [Fig. 130].] Ornithomya fringillina Curtis, 1836
b	Ventral part of head with genae virtually always distinct genal marking [Fig. 142]. [Wing length 4.5-5.5 mm; scutellum with row of 6 setae [Fig. 138]; head dark dorsally, darkening extending ventrally almost to jugular setae; mesonotum dark, darkening extending laterally to mesobasisternum; cell 3r more setulose with only basal area clear and often a small clear area posterior of apex of R4+5 [Fig. 129].] Ornithomya chloropus Bergroth, 1901
11a	Wing with only one cross-vein. Macrotrichia not extending to 2A, cell 2m+1A partly and cell 2a completely bare. Palpi distinctly more than twice as long as broad; median length of scutellum about ? the distance between bases of scutellar setae; posterior margin of scutellum more or less straight; male mid metatarsus with ventral peg-like setae near base. Pseudolynchia canariensis (Bequaert)
b	Wing with two cross-veins [Fig. 133] [Fig. 134].	12
12a	Scutellum with two strong setae [Fig. 139]. Icosta ardea (Macquart, 1835)
b	Scutellum only with soft hairs [Fig. 143]. 1st basal cell long and narrow with macrotrichia only on vein R4+5; 2nd reaching at least to apex of Sc; wing microtrichia absent on both surfaces of half of cell 2m+1a and whole of cell 2a; posterior margin of head more or less straight (upper orbits and postvertex not strongly produced or separated by distinct notches); on osprey. Olfersia fumipennis (Sahlberg)
13a	Wings reduced but entire and with well developed venation [Fig. 123] [Fig. 124]; tarsal claws bifid and with a pale basal lobe [Fig. 135]; humeral callus well developed [Fig. 123] [Fig. 124]; head not broader than long; on birds.	14
b	Wings either reduced to a veinless knob or broken off, leaving a broad flat veined stump [Fig. 126] [Fig. 127]; tarsal claws simple with a pale basal lobe [Fig. 136]; humeral callus weak [Fig. 126] [Fig. 127]; head much broader than long; on mammals.	15
14a	Wing long (5-6 mm) and narrow, at least six times as long as wide and twice as long as head and thorax; female with strong spiniform setae in posterolateral area [Fig. 123]; male without spiniform setae. Stenepteryx hirudinis (Linnaeus, 1758)
b	Wing short (4.0-4.5 mm) and broad, at most three times as long as wide and about 1.5 times as long as head and thorax; tip of wing attenuated, C reaching to about 0.75 length of anterior wing margin; female abdomen only with short fine setae in posterolateral area [Fig. 124]. Crataerina pallida (Olivier in Latreille, 1812)
15a	Wings reduced to a veinless solid knob; halter absent [Fig. 127]. Melophagus ovinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
b	Wings broken off, leaving a broad flat veined stump; halter present [Fig. 126]. Lipoptena cervi (Linnaeus, 1758)

Images

Figure 120. Ornithomya avicularia, female in dorsal view.

Figure 121. Ornithomya avicularia, female in lateral view.

Figure 122. Ornithomya avicularia, pupa.

Figure 123. Crataerina hirundinis, female in dorsal view.

Figure 124. Crataerina pallida, female in dorsal view.

Figure 125. Lipoptena cervi, alate female in dorsal view.

Figure 126. Lipoptena cervi, dealate female in dorsal view.

Figure 127. Melophagus ovinus, female in dorsal view.

Figure 128. Hippobosca equina, female in dorsal view.

Figure 129. Ornithomya chloropus, wing.

Figure 130. Ornithomya fringillina, wing.

Figure 131. Ornithomya biloba, wing.

Figure 132. Ornithophila metallica, wing.

Figure 133. Icosta ardeae, wing.

Figure 134. Icosta minor, wing.

Figure 135. Ornithomya avicularia, claw hind tarsus.

Figure 136. Lipoptena cervi, claw hind tarsus.

Figure 137. Ornithomya fringillina, scutellum.

Figure 138. Ornithomya chloropus, scutellum.

Figure 139. Icosta ardeae, scutellum.

Figure 140. Ornithoctona laticornis, scutellum.

Figure 141. Ornithomya biloba, head and thorax in dorsal view.

Figure 142. Ornithomya chloropus, head and thorax in ventral view.

Figure 143. Olfersia fumipennis, head and thorax in dorsal view.

Figure 144. [No image caption given.]

Figure 145. [No image caption given.]