The danger of moose ticks to humans and methods of combating them

One of the most unpleasant insects for both large forest inhabitants and tourists are deer bloodsuckers. They are popularly referred to by many terms associated with ticks, lice, flies - parasites that feed on the blood of larger victims, but they do not belong to any of these species.

What animals do elk lice occur on, how to recognize the parasite, protect yourself and eliminate the symptoms of a bite - we will tell you in the article.

Description and appearance

The deer bloodsucker is an ectoparasite that feeds on the blood of warm-blooded animals. Most often, insects parasitize deer, elk, roe deer and cattle. But bears, wild boars, wolverines, foxes, and among domestic animals goats, sheep and even dogs can also become victims of the moose fly. If the numbers are high, attacks on people are possible. But in this case, the insect cannot give offspring.

The deer bloodsucker is a small (about 3 - 3.5 mm) light brown insect. On the head there are a pair of large compound eyes, 3 simple ocelli, antennae, and a piercing-sucking mouthparts. The insect's proboscis looks similar to the mouthparts of the autumn fly. Strong legs with powerful thighs. Well developed, dense, transparent wings, the span of which is from 5 to 6 mm.

Appearance

The moose fly is similar in appearance to a tick. The main similarity is that the body of both insects is highly flattened and can withstand great pressure. In addition, once on the animal’s body, the bloodsucker sheds its wings to make it easier to move and get closer to the skin.

[edit] Fly link

• Brutal abuse of flies.
• Why does a fly fly? Debriefing adapted for people suffering from PGM.
• The tsetse fly is plaguing Africa.
• Korney Chukovsky “The Fly Tsokotukha.”
• An interesting page with interesting facts from the life of flies. And another one.
• On the genealogy of Mukha-Tsokotukha - a study of the literary origins of K. Chukovsky’s work. Science, yup!

Lifestyle of a bloodsucker

The deer bloodsucker fly can be found in the European part of Russia, Siberia, Primorsky Krai, Scandinavia, North America, and the northern regions of China. The fly is active during the daytime.

She is not afraid of sunlight, but still prefers shady places with high humidity , so she chooses forests (most often wetlands) for her habitat. The number of insects is directly affected by the number of moose and deer in the selected area.

Bloodsuckers find victims by smell and warmth. Once on the animal’s body, the moose fly hides in the fur, grabs it with its paws and begins to drink blood. Usually the insect does not leave the chosen animal for the rest of its life.

Green (carrion)

Despite its partiality to various kinds of carrion and sewage, this fly is a very beautiful insect with a glossy emerald body and translucent smoky wings with a faint openwork pattern. Its body length is about 8 mm. The fly's eyes are large, reddish, its abdomen is round, its cheeks are white. Green flies live mainly in dirty places : on decaying animal corpses, in manure, waste - but sometimes they can be

meet among flowering plants with a strong aroma. They feed on organic rotting matter, where they lay their eggs.

After mating, the female lays about 180 eggs. The egg has a grayish or light yellow tint. She tries to hide them as deep as possible in carrion, where they develop within 6–48 hours to the larval stage. The length of the larvae's body varies between 10–14 mm. After 3–9 days they leave their habitat and move to the soil to pupate. The pupal stage lasts from 10 to 17 days (depending on weather conditions), after which the insect emerges to the surface as an adult fly.

Reproduction

Reproduction of the moose bloodsucker differs from most other insects primarily in that the male and female form a permanent pair. The second difference is that the insect is viviparous.

After mating, eggs develop in the female’s abdomen, and then larvae emerge from them, which also remain inside the mother’s body. Nutrition occurs due to the nutritious secretion secreted by special glands. In order to provide the growing offspring with a sufficient amount of food, the female at this time drinks blood up to 20 times a day . When the time comes, the so-called prepupae appear. They gradually harden, turning into a full-fledged pupa, inside which the final formation of the insect occurs.

At a time, the female gives birth to only one prepupa, after which the next one is formed in the vacant space in the uterus.

[edit] Flies and men in white

• Scientists are experimenting with genetic engineering on flies - adding, for example, skills to self-glow in the dark or an extra pair of legs. Thousands, millions, billions of fruit flies died for the sake of the progress of science and the development of genetic scientists. Due to their simple structure - only 8 chromosomes - they were very convenient to study. It's time to erect a monument. Although, to be more precise, scientists were primarily attracted not by the number of chromosomes, but by the speed of reproduction and ease of breeding these flies, when the result of the experiment can be seen in a matter of days. Drosophila larvae also have the so-called salivary glands. polytene chromosomes, characterized by their HUGE size, making them easy to look at and study. The purely arithmetic number of chromosomes played a role in cytogenetics experiments, when chromosomes were stained and their behavior was monitored using a conventional microscope. Still, 8 fly chromosomes are easier to see than 46 human chromosomes, especially not in a book, but on a preparation where they are all mixed up. Now that each chromosome can be colored with a separate dye, this is no longer relevant.

Here she is, a beauty, and here are her babies. Eating a baby cow

• The blowfly Cochliomyia hominivorax
  troubles Pindostan cattle breeders because it likes to lay its larvae in wounds on the body of cows.
  Accordingly, the larvae poison the wounds with their vomit, turning them into ulcers. Because of this, the little cow loses weight, there is simply no gain in milk yield, and the skin is worthless on market day. Then, at the instigation of the farmers, the evil fly-loving misanthropes studied the biology of these flies and came up with a savage way of fighting them, encroaching on the most sacred thing in a fly’s life - on the E
  x. It turned out that a female blowfly can only mate once in its life, and that’s it. And then the insidious killers in white coats began to raise male blowflies on an industrial scale. They were well fed to make them more attractive to females, and then brutally irradiated with strong X-rays, causing the males to become infertile. Masses of sterilized males were then released into blowfly habitats. The pretty winged Don Juans successfully competed with skinnier wild males, sailed females, and... that’s all. Dynamo as it is. Females lost their virginity in exchange for bullshit instead of sperm, and that was the end of their contribution to reproduction. So the war between man and fly is sometimes sophisticated to the point of subtle perversion.

Details of the fly's epic fail in the English-language Pediwiki: tyts!

Harm to animals

The moose fly is primarily dangerous for large forest animals, livestock, and in rare cases, humans. Deer bloodsucker bites cause serious discomfort to animals, as they are painful and cause severe itching. The victim tries to get rid of the source of pain, scratches the wounds, which can cause damage to the skin, inflammation due to infection in the wound.

Bite

In addition, the attack of voracious parasites leads to exhaustion of animals and slows down the growth of cubs. After all, an adult insect sucks about 1 mg of blood at a time , so if there are a lot of parasites on an animal, then it will experience significant and regular blood loss. Another negative factor is the contamination of wool with waste products of bloodsuckers.

[edit] In addition

NIN on topic And Petya Mamonov too The fly from “The Fly” looks at you like you’re food for larvae

• Mucha is the nickname of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and Industry named after. Stieglitz (former Mukhina Academy).
• The Fly is a hellish 80s film (with a terrible sequel) by David Croneberg. A remake of the 1958 film with Vincent Price, by the way.
• Mukha is the first magazine in Russia specializing in comics, originated in Ufa, published in 1991-93.
• Mucha is a famous Czech artist in Europe. However, in Europe he was called exclusively in the French manner, “Mushá”, in which pronunciation his name returned even to his native Czech Republic. The artist predictably did not object.
• Mukha is an RPG-18 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade.
• Mukha is a Steyr Scout sniper rifle in counter mode.
• Jan Mucha is the goalkeeper of the Slovak national football team.
• Vitaly Petrovich Mukha - chief in the Novosibirsk region from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1995 to 1999.
• Renata Mukha is a children's poet.
• Fly on the Wall (Fly on the Wall) - the album of the most epic and award-winning group AC/DC, according to experts, is less successful. However, a series of music videos were released to coincide with the case, showing the songs being performed in a bar, using various special effects, including an animated subtitle.
• In Italian, “fly” will be mosca, and “Moscow”... the same Mosca, only with a capital letter.

How is it dangerous to humans and how does it bite?

Attention! Despite the fact that Homo sapiens is not the most suitable prey for elk fleas, large concentrations of insects can be dangerous to humans. First of all, hunters who butcher the carcass of a killed elk, wild boar or deer, as well as mushroom pickers who climb into swampy places in the thicket of the forest, suffer.

According to research, moose flies are not carriers of pathogens. Unlike many blood-sucking insects, the deer bloodsucker does not inject an anesthetic enzyme into the skin, so the bite is accompanied by sharp and quite noticeable pain.

But it is not the pain of the bite that poses the main threat. The moose fly is dangerous to humans primarily because it is unknown how the body will react to the bite. There may be a slight burning and itching accompanied by redness of the skin. Or there may be an increase in temperature, the formation of blisters, or the appearance of a rash.

[edit] Weapons of genocide of flies

As the great luminaries of science and medicine bequeathed to us, flies spread infection, and that means our first task is their merciless destruction. The final solution to the fly question is postponed due to their vitality, but You, it is You, can take part in the extermination of these buzzing creatures and parasites of humanity.

The arsenal is quite large:

• A high-tech product of Chinese industry is a rechargeable electric fly swatter that looks like a tennis racket. When exposed to high voltage, flies die miserably;
• Your hand;
• Fly swatter;
• Newspaper or magazine;
• Dichlorvos;
• Tweezers and lighter;
• Deodorant (or eau de toilette) and lighter;
• Deodorant without a lighter, but containing alcohol (the fly, as a clean creature, will begin to eat what has settled on its wings and legs, quietly get drunk and accumulate; the method is ineffective, since it requires a dozen direct hits with the spray);
• Napalm;
• Spiders;
• Duct tape;
• Rubber;
• Vacuum cleaner;
• A lit cigarette (with special skill it is possible to deprive a small specimen of its wings);
• Hair fixation spray. The wings lose the necessary flexibility and the fly falls;
• Physicists' wonders: Luminescent flytrap. A wunderwaffle capable of luring a fly into itself, imitating human breathing, equipped with a fan to suck in approaching flies. Compatible with pacifism and Buddhism: the device does not cut out flies, but arranges a concentration camp for them; the next morning the catch can be released out the window.
• LED strip with RGB LEDs (this is important, white LEDs are not needed). On the one hand, a working Ketai LED strip (the cheapest 12-volt one from Aliexpress, without protection from water) heats up slightly noticeably, attracting flies. On the other hand, narrow bands of powerful radiation from color LEDs prevent the fly from seeing with “motion sensors”, due to which flies can even be collected with tweezers. Thirdly, 12V constant is safe, unlike .

Features of a deer bloodsucker attack

Research confirms that the deer bloodsucker chooses the largest object. So, if an adult and a child are walking in the forest, the child has a much better chance of avoiding an attack. Moving people and animals are also at greater risk.

The parasite does not bite immediately. Once on the victim, it first freezes for a few seconds and only then begins to move quickly, trying to get on the skin and looking for the most suitable place to bite.

Attention! It can take 15 to 60 minutes from the moment a moose louse hits the skin until it bites. Trying to scare away the bloodsucker with a sharp movement is useless, and removing it is quite difficult due to its small flat body and tenacious claws on its paws.

[edit] The solution to the meaning of life of flies

Doshirak with a high protein content The tsetse fly is a champion in sawing out people in Africa While the amorphophallus is blooming: such a treasure - and leave it to some flies???
Yes, reader, flies are actually very important. Nature made sure that there were not millions of flies, but billions of billions. Where do people care about such numbers? British scientists in one of their educational programs stated that one pair of these cute creatures can give birth to up to 10,000 children in their lifetime. The fly is a wonderful natural recycler of rotten corpses, a pollinator of some pretty flowers, although not all, since many flowers are designed in such a way that the bee's oral penis can reach the nectar, but the fly's cannot. Sometimes the fly eats the larvae of other insects. To understand how pretty flowers pollinated by flies are, you can sniff the fluffy-leathery flower of the African stapelia, or smell the inflorescence of the Asian plant amorphophallus, which looks like a dried MPH. Some people like it... Flies have one curious feature: they really like to sit on hanging objects. Therefore, in the Arizema plant, the covering leaf around the inflorescence grows into a long “tail”, and the adhesive tape is suspended from the ceiling.

Ubiquitous British scientists and doctors decided to use the larvae of certain species of flies as a means of treating severe festering wounds. A handful of thoroughly washed larvae are simply tied to the patient’s wound, they begin to merrily swarm and eat dead or rotting tissue, giving the wearer a lot of pleasant sensations. The result is a clean wound, not contaminated with pus: the gastric juice of the larvae has antibiotic properties. And the flies calmly pupate and are removed by a doctor. Win! Although this method of treatment was known for quite a long time - since the Crimean War and the First World War, it was not used by doctors, due to the fact that they simply did not know how to wash the larvae correctly (when they tried to wash them with soap, they invariably died).

Fly larvae also greatly help criminologists in establishing the date of death of former people found in a forest belt - the day of death can be accurately determined by the species composition, stage of development and the number of already rounded larvae. Moreover, cunning criminologists specifically conducted research devoted to studying the peculiarities of the colonization of corpses lying in different places by different types of flies (in a car, among vegetation, in an open place, clothed, undressed, etc.). An interesting story on this topic was shown in one of the Animal Planet

- at one institute, a hefty piece of land was planted with trees, lined with cars and covered with pig carcasses, simulating the corpses of victims. And all in order to establish the relationship between the position of the corpse on the ground, the species composition and the stages of development of the fly larvae that inhabited it.

When there was nothing left to eat, the Modoc Indians from California dammed the stream and shook dead flies from nearby bushes into the water. The flies accumulated near a hastily built dam, where the Indians collected them. There were a lot of flies. The Indians caught them from the water with baskets and carried them in the baskets to the ovens for cooking. The cooked flies were not immediately taken out, but were allowed to cool. The cooled mass of baked flies is comparable in density to brawn, and it could be cut with a knife. The Indians called this dish kuchabbi. Details there.

Malicious flies subcutaneous gadflies also pay a bloody tribute to humans. After all, the menu of the northern shepherd-reindeer herder has such deliciousness - mature larvae of this species, ready for metamorphosis. The Chukchi and Canadian Indians readily eat them raw.

There is such a family of flies - hedgehogs

, or tahini. When they don’t want to reproduce, they drink flower nectar and flutter in the meadows. But when they feel the urge to continue the race, they become fierce parasites. They find a bug or caterpillar and lay their eggs on the victim. Moreover, they do this in a hard-to-reach place - for example, under the wings of a bug, so that it does not inadvertently scrape off the gift, but enjoys all the delights of devouring itself alive. These flies are used in gardening to control caterpillars.

The fly, as well as the larvae of the blowfly (maggots) are an excellent fishing bait. About extracting unearned income from this, see the epoch-making film Kopeyka.

And finally - the most important question of this article - why does a fly sit on shit?

? But because, my little friend, she needs to lay eggs there, since shit is a very good and nutritious yum (but not for you, but for the fly larvae). By the way, after each contact with a person, the fly finds a secluded place and thoroughly cleans its legs. Well, which one of them is shit then? It’s not for nothing that folk wisdom noticed the outstanding visionary abilities of these insects: “flies are never mistaken.”

Parasitism on humans

The deer bloodsucker most often ends up on the human body by mistake. After all, human blood is not suitable for these bloodsuckers. By feeding on it, insects lose their ability to reproduce. Therefore, an elk flea can live on a person for no more than 1 – 1.5 days. But usually the period is much shorter, since after the first bites the insect is easy to detect and get rid of.

These parasites are also not suitable for living at home, so there is no need to worry that elk fleas brought from the forest will take up residence in a person’s home.

Epidemiological significance

Sometimes the question arises whether it is possible to kill flies if they are an important part of the planet's ecological system.

Since most types of flies come into contact with waste, excrement, carrion and then with human food or objects that people touch, they mechanically transmit pathogenic microorganisms, helminth eggs, and infectious agents. In the most severe cases, a fly infestation can cause an epidemic.

Based on the above, it is impossible to coexist peacefully with flies that appear in the house; they must be killed in order to avoid unpleasant consequences.

How to treat?

If you cannot avoid a moose fly bite, you need to take measures to relieve the symptoms and avoid unpleasant consequences.

Plaster on the wound

To do this, take the following steps:

• carefully remove the insect;
• disinfect the bite site;
• Cover the wound with a band-aid to prevent dirt from getting into it.

After this, it is better to go home so that you can take measures in case of an allergic reaction.

At home, you need to take measures to reduce itching and relieve inflammation. To do this, apply a cold compress to the affected area, you can lubricate the wound with aloe juice, or make a soda lotion.

Balm “Zvezdochka” or “Fenistil Gel” helps many people. If an allergy develops, you should take an antihistamine. But the most correct option in this case is to consult a doctor.

Internal structure

The main internal organs of the fly are located inside the abdomen. These are the genitals and digestive organs, the circulatory system, the respiratory system and the nervous system.

Reproductive system

The reproductive system includes accessory glands, ducts, as well as testes in males and eggs in females. External appendages differ depending on the species. Most flies lay eggs, but some species are viviparous - females give birth to larvae.

Digestive system

The digestive system consists of the crop, intestines, Malpighian vessels and excretory tubules. Flies are insects with external digestion. That is, food digestion occurs outside the body, under the influence of a special secretion injected by the fly. After this, the insect sucks up the resulting liquid.

Other organs and systems

Other organs and systems of the fly's body:

• the brain is a large number of nerve plexuses that are located in different parts of the body and perform the main function of coordinating the behavior of the insect;
• respiratory system - a complex system of tracheas located throughout the body and opening outward with spiracles;
• circulatory system - includes the aorta, heart, pterygoid muscle and dorsal vessel.

How to protect yourself in the forest?

If you prepare in advance for a trip to the forest and take care of protection, moose fleas will not cause any harm. Basic recommendations:

• wear clothes that cover the body as much as possible, it is advisable that the cuffs and collar fit tightly;
• It is better to choose clothes of light colors (but not white), monochromatic, on which the deer fly will be more visible;
• to protect your hair and face, it is best to wear a mosquito net with a mesh; in the absence of one, a panama hat or scarf will do;
• clothing and exposed areas of the body must be treated with repellents containing at least 20-25% DEET;
• It is helpful to bring a tick remover and an antiseptic such as hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine.

Returning from a walk in the forest, you should immediately take off your clothes, shake them thoroughly outside, and then wash them in hot water. It is also necessary to carefully examine the scalp and body. This will help prevent the bloodsucker from appearing in the apartment if it has clung to clothing or hair and was brought from the forest.

[edit] Gallery

[edit] They are so different...

• Millions of these fruit flies died for the sake of science
• Know the heroes by sight!
• Bloodsucking Horsefly

[edit] Flies in high art

• Velomukha
• An example of a fly comic. The rest is there
• Another example from the same source
• And further
• Fly in high art
• Fly in the film of the same name
• Honorary All-USA Fly
• Magazine "Fly" with Cheburashko-ninja on the cover
• Zipper - green intelligent fly
• Fly from the 1960 domestic film adaptation
• Painting by Konstantin Khudyakov
• Polish artist Igor Morski

How to avoid moose flea bites?

To do this you should:

• wear clothing that covers the entire body;
• tuck pants into shoes or socks;
• use a mosquito net;
• use powerful DEET-based repellents. The content of DEET itself in them should be at least 20%, preferably up to 100%. Having felt this substance, flies will not risk biting.

After being in the forest, especially after a successful hunt, you should take a bath and wash your body and head with tar soap. This will allow you to remove already established bloodsucker from it.

Interesting video: this is what a deer bloodsucker, or elk flea, actually looks like

Moose fleas live in northern Europe, Scandinavia, and Siberia. Most often they are found in the taiga and cold regions of Russia. Several insects are called moose fleas:

• goat fleas;
• deer bloodsuckers;
• alakurt.

The deer bloodsucker is an annoying large fly. It is also called a flea, louse,... A flat, flattened body with a durable chitinous cover allows the insect to withstand strong physical pressure, so it is not so easy to crush it. The size of the bloodsucker does not exceed 3.5 mm. The characteristic light brown shiny color sets the fly apart from elk fleas.

Up to 1000 specimens can be concentrated on the body of one moose. On average, 200-300 flies constantly live on an animal. very painful, cause itching, anxiety. In their place, redness and rash appear. It has been experimentally established that the moose fly prefers a thick coat of hair and therefore most of it is concentrated in the neck and back area.

On a note!

When the population is large, people also become victims of the deer bloodsucker. There are cases when in one minute a person was attacked by 100-120 individuals.

The moose louse hunts during the daytime. Interestingly, she does not attack children. This selectivity is determined by the size of the prey, because deer bloodsuckers prefer larger carriers. Hunters experience insect attacks more often than others during the division of prey.

Digging into the body of its victim, the insect folds its wings, swells and firmly adheres to the skin, for which it received the popular name - moose tick.

Alakurt, or sheep flea

Alakurts can live on animals in large numbers. A distinctive feature of these fleas is that they are constantly present on the host’s body, which distinguishes them from other representatives of the flea order.

This is interesting

In some cases, with a serious infection, alakurt can lead to weakening of the animal and even its death. This flea is not dangerous to humans, and there are no known cases of it attacking people.

Goat fleas can also attack deer and elk.

They can also bite humans. These insects differ little from dog and cat fleas, and therefore, when they come into contact with the human body, they do not attract much attention.

Moose fly / Lipoptena cervi: Video

Entomologists, strictly speaking, do not know such an insect as the moose flea. Among the existing types of fleas, elk fleas are absent, and even animals close to them - for example, deer and roe deer - do not have their own.

The first two types of insects belong to typical fleas: their biology and appearance are similar to those of cats and fleas. The deer bloodsucker is precisely a fly, but due to the fact that it is most often found crawling in fur, it was also dubbed a flea.

Let's take a closer look at all these insects and find out what danger they can pose to humans and how to protect ourselves from them.

Lifestyle and habitat

You can meet the moose tick in Canada, North America, Scandinavia, Western Europe, Russia (Siberia, northwest), China.

In the photo there is a deer bloodsucker on an animal

“Equipped” with multifaceted eyes and well-developed wings, the bloodsucker, oddly enough, sees and flies very poorly. Possessing poor eyesight, the fly selects a victim based on the body heat of the potential victim and its size, preferring larger animals.

Having discovered the victim, the fly flies to its body, and this, in fact, is the only time it needed wings. Having settled on its found host, it will never fly anywhere again. Moreover, having settled, the bloodsucker sheds its wings, which prevent it from moving through the animal’s skin to the skin, and also become unnecessary. Now she will live only here, constantly feeding on the blood of her victim (hence the similarity with ordinary lice, living on one host, although switching to another under certain circumstances). And in appearance, without wings, the deer bloodsucker is very, which is why, in fact, it is called that by the people (elk louse), although this is erroneous.

In windy or rainy weather, the moose tick does not fly at all.

Following the discarded wings, the muscles that work during flight also become unusable: they simply atrophy, since now they are also no longer needed. Having reached the skin of the animal, the bloodsucker tightly clings to the skin with its claws, pierces the skin and immediately sucks the blood of its now permanent “breadwinner”. In this way of feeding, the fly resembles a tick, which also digs into the skin of the victim and sucks blood. However, deer bloodsuckers and ticks are completely different insects.

Question-answer section

To avoid collisions with moose parasites, it is necessary to learn more about the peculiarities of their life activity. All questions can be asked to an entomologist on the website online.

How is it different from a real tick?

Alisa, 34 years old, Rostov-on-Don. “The main difference is the wings of the moose bloodsucker. But if she has already attacked you or an animal, then the wings are shed. You can count the legs – a true tick has 8 of them. In addition, the limbs themselves of arachnids are thin and shorter.”

There is a moose flea in my hair, what to do, how to get rid of it?

Olga, 38 years old, Vladimir “When an elk tick attacks, it is somehow easier to notice and remove it on the skin. How do you remove it from your hair?” “The principle is the same: use tweezers or thread, in this case you need to ask one of your relatives to do it. It is necessary to open the area first so that the hair does not interfere.”

How to identify a moose flea bite?

Vera, 36 years old, Moscow. “Externally, I can, in principle, distinguish the bloodsucker-elk tick. How can you recognize its bite? “The main difference is the formation of a papule at the point of skin puncture. In addition, immediately upon being bitten there is pain (but not in all people) and a burning sensation.”

Deer bloodsucker in the apartment! Is it possible?

Vera, 35 years old, Kirov. “I often find blood-sucking pests in my apartment. How do they get there if they live mainly on animals in the forest and households?” “It’s very simple - parasites attack birds, so they spread quickly. Sometimes such pests are brought home on clothes. I hope you manage to get rid of them."