Carnus hemapterus is a parasitic species of fly in the Family Carnidae. As its name suggests, it is part of the Genus Carnus, a genus that contains four other species.
Carnus hempaterusis ahemiparasitic species that feeds on birds that lives in Israel and the countries around it, Europe and Japan.
Carnus hemapterus is a Dipteran insect, a small-bodied and partly black-coloured carnid fly. In their adult stage of life, they are blood-sucking ectoparasites of nestling birds. Within the genus Carnus, this is the only species widespread across Europe and the cold and temperate regions of Asia and North America. Female body length is about 1.5 mm, males are smaller. It typically occurs in the nests of medium- to large-bodied birds, provided that the nest is not on the ground. It is particularly common on the chicks of owls, falcons, rollers, bee-eaters and starlings. Females give birth to larvae that live within the nest and feed on organic debris and the pupae also overwinter there. The emergence of imagines is synchronized to the hatch of host nestlings in the subsequent year. They prefer larger chicks within the nest.[6] Adult flies have a winged and an unwinged variety, the latter being more common. In fact, unwinged flies still carry the basal part of their wings, but the majority of the wing is broken off (see a close view of the above photo). Flies live only on the nestlings before and during the development of the plumage, and disappear later on.[7][8]
Infestations by Carnus hemapterus appear to be rather harmless for the host chicks. In spite of that, barn owl females advertise their resistance genes by the dark spots on their breast and belly;[9] nestlings of heavily spotted females tend to be more resistant. In this study, potential environmental confounding effects were controlled for by cross-fostering chicks.
The faeces and blood remains from these ectoparasitic flies make spots on the eggshell surface of host birds. This contamination appear to increase abundance and diversity of eggshell bacterial loads and, consequently, increase the chance of embryo death.[10][11]
Barn owl, heavily spotted
Barn owl, medium coloration
Barn owl, weakly spotted
Carnus hemapterus is a Dipteran insect, a small-bodied and partly black-coloured carnid fly. In their adult stage of life, they are blood-sucking ectoparasites of nestling birds. Within the genus Carnus, this is the only species widespread across Europe and the cold and temperate regions of Asia and North America. Female body length is about 1.5 mm, males are smaller. It typically occurs in the nests of medium- to large-bodied birds, provided that the nest is not on the ground. It is particularly common on the chicks of owls, falcons, rollers, bee-eaters and starlings. Females give birth to larvae that live within the nest and feed on organic debris and the pupae also overwinter there. The emergence of imagines is synchronized to the hatch of host nestlings in the subsequent year. They prefer larger chicks within the nest. Adult flies have a winged and an unwinged variety, the latter being more common. In fact, unwinged flies still carry the basal part of their wings, but the majority of the wing is broken off (see a close view of the above photo). Flies live only on the nestlings before and during the development of the plumage, and disappear later on.
Infestations by Carnus hemapterus appear to be rather harmless for the host chicks. In spite of that, barn owl females advertise their resistance genes by the dark spots on their breast and belly; nestlings of heavily spotted females tend to be more resistant. In this study, potential environmental confounding effects were controlled for by cross-fostering chicks.
The faeces and blood remains from these ectoparasitic flies make spots on the eggshell surface of host birds. This contamination appear to increase abundance and diversity of eggshell bacterial loads and, consequently, increase the chance of embryo death.
Barn owl, heavily spotted
Barn owl, medium coloration
Barn owl, weakly spotted
Carnus hemapterus is een vliegensoort uit de familie van de Carnidae.[1] De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1818 door Nitzsch.
Bronnen, noten en/of referenties
Carnus hemapterus Nitzsch, 1818
Carnus hemapterus (лат.) — вид двукрылых насекомых рода Carnus семейства Carnidae небольшого размера преимущественно чёрного цвета.
Представители рода Carnus являются кровососущими эктопаразитами птенцов птиц. В рамках этого рода, Carnus hemapterus — это единственный вид, широко распространенный в Европе и северных и умеренных областях Азии и Америки. Длина тела самок составляет около 1,5 мм, самцы меньше. Обычно обитает в гнездах средних и больших здоровых птиц, при условии, что гнезда не на земле. Особенно часто встречается на птенцах совообразных (Strigiformes), соколов (Falco), сизоворонковых (Coraciidae), щурковых (Meropidae) и скворцовых (Sturnidae).
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Carnus hemapterus (лат.) — вид двукрылых насекомых рода Carnus семейства Carnidae небольшого размера преимущественно чёрного цвета.
Представители рода Carnus являются кровососущими эктопаразитами птенцов птиц. В рамках этого рода, Carnus hemapterus — это единственный вид, широко распространенный в Европе и северных и умеренных областях Азии и Америки. Длина тела самок составляет около 1,5 мм, самцы меньше. Обычно обитает в гнездах средних и больших здоровых птиц, при условии, что гнезда не на земле. Особенно часто встречается на птенцах совообразных (Strigiformes), соколов (Falco), сизоворонковых (Coraciidae), щурковых (Meropidae) и скворцовых (Sturnidae).
