Haematobia irritans

Haematobia irritans - Scott Bauer Wikimedia Commons

Also known as:

Horn fly Lyperosia irritans

Scientific Classification

Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Insecta
Order	Phthiraptera
Family	Trichodectidae

Hosts

Cattle.

Identification

Adults are between 3-4mm in length, and are grey with black stripes on the thorax. The larvae are yellow.

Life Cycle

The flies remain on the host, for most of their life cycle, leaving only to lay their eggs on other hosts - spreading the infection. The eggs hatch quickly, and mature on the cattle, mostly along the back, shoulders and sides.

The complete life cycle takes around a 1 week.