Introduction

Black flies are small insects (adult body 1.5–6.0 mm long) belonging to the family Simuliidae in the order Diptera. Females of most species of black flies take blood meals from mammals and birds to mature their eggs. Due to this biting habit, black flies are among the medically and veterinarily most important insects. Females of certain species affect human and animal health and welfare, not only causing dermatoses but also transmitting filarial and protozoan parasites such as Onchocerca volvulus and O. dewittei, the causative agents of human and zoonotic onchocerciasis, respectively (Crosskey, 1990; Takaoka, 2015a; Takaoka et al., 2012a), and Leucocytozoon and Trypanosoma species, which are blood parasites of domestic birds (Crosskey, 1990).