Stephanofilaria stilesi

Stephanofilaira stilesi

Stephanofilaira stilesi
Class	Nematoda
Super-family	Filarioidea

Hosts

Intermediate hosts: The horn fly e.g Haematobia irritans

Definitive hosts: Cattle.

Identification

These small nematodes are between 3-6mm in length. The eggs have thin shells, and are around 65μm in length. The microfilaria are 50μm long and enclosed in a spherical, vitelline membrane.

Lifecycle

Horn flies feed on lesions found on the host skin, and ingest microfilariae, as they feed on cutaneous lesions. They later develop into L3 in around 18-21 days. The definitive host is infected when the fly leaves the L3 on the host.