Melophagus ovinus
| Melophagus ovinus | |
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| Melophagus ovinus illustration from British Entomology | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Hippoboscidae |
| Genus: | Melophagus |
| Species: | M. ovinus |
| Binomial name | |
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Melophagus ovinus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
Melophagus ovinus, or the sheep ked, is a brown, hairy fly that resembles a tick. This wingless fly is about 4 to 6 mm long and has a small head; it is a fly from the family Hippoboscidae. They are blood-feeding parasites of sheep. The sheep ked feeds on the blood of its host by inserting its sharp mouthparts into capillaries beneath the skin. The legs of the sheep ked are very strong and tipped with claws. Sheep keds live their whole lives in the wool of sheep. They are most commonly found on the neck, shoulders, and underbelly of the host animal. Although they are often referred to as the “sheep tick”, sheep keds spend their entire lifecycle on their hosts, which is distinguishable from the characteristics of a true tick. Additionally, sheep keds have six legs, whereas true ticks have eight legs.
Native to most of Europe including Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, as well as North West Africa, Mongolia, and North India, it was introduced and established in Kenya, South Africa, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, most of North America, and many parts of South America, including Tristan da Cunha and the Falkland Islands.
The primary host of M. ovinus is the domestic sheep. Also, records on argali (Ovis ammon), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), and Dall sheep (Ovis dalli) are doubted. They have also been seen in the ears of herding dogs or livestock guardian dogs where they may be mistaken for true ticks. The immature forms are jelly like blobs.
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Wikipedia