DISEASE SUMMARY PAGE

Biting/Blood-sucking and Nuisance Flies Affecting Elephants, Bears and Lagomorphs

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Summary Information
Diseases / List of Parasitic Diseases / Disease summary
Alternative Names See also:
Disease Agents
In Elephants
In Bears
  • Unidentified flies. (B16.9.w9)
  • Stomoxys calcitrans. (J35.128.w1)
In Lagomorphs

(B208.2.w2)

Further information on Disease Agents has only been incorporated for agents recorded in species for which a full Wildpro "Health and Management" module has been completed (i.e. for which a comprehensive literature review has been undertaken). Only those agents with further information available are linked below:

Infectious Agent(s)
Non-infectious Agent(s) --
Physical Agent(s) --
General Description
In Elephants:
  • Biting and non-biting flies are annoying to elephants, particularly when present in swarms, and may inhibit feeding. (B455.w7)
  • Elephants attacked by swarms of flies may become agitated, flap their ears, swing their tails and trunks and try to get away from where the flies are. (B212.w26)
  • Midges (Culicoides  spp.) feed particularly on the smooth, thin skin on the back of the ears, e.g. in the caudally curved upper border of the ears. (B455.w7, J62.61.w2)
  • The skin may be irritated and inflamed. (B212.w26)
  • Bites from larger flies such as tabanids (Tabanidae - Horse flies, Clegs, Deer-flies etc. (Family)) may continue to weep blood from disrupted capillaries after the fly has gone, which may attract non-biting flies, which can annoy the elephant. (B455.w7)
  • Flies attracted to excessive ocular discharges may exacerbate any existing problem, causing conjunctivitis. (B455.w7)

See also the description in Elephants and their Diseases- A Treatise on Elephants - Part IV - Chapter VIII - Diseases of the Skin (continued) - External Parasites

In Bears:
  • Bites occur commonly on the tips of the ears. This is a particular problem in captive Ursus maritimus - Polar bear. (B16.9.w9)
  • At Auckland Zoological Park, New Zealand, bites from Stomoxys calcitrans were noted to result in small lesions of dermatitis seen as single or multiple oval hairless patches on the ears, withers or in the lumbo-sacral area. (J35.128.w1)
In Lagomorphs:
  • Mosquitoes
    • Hypersensitivity to mosquito bites has been reported in rabbits. (B208.2.w2)
    • Important vectors for filarids, Myxomatosis, and many other diseases. (B614.11.w11)
    • See the "Transmission section" in Myxomatosis for more information on specific species involved. 
  • Black flies (Simulium spp.)
    • These flies occur in many parts of the world. (B614.11.w11)
    • Simulium truncatum and Simulium tuberosum have been reported to feed on rabbits. (B208.2.w2)
    • These flies feed on areas of sparse hair such as the nostrils, ears and the lip margins. The bites are painful and may cause significant inflammation. (B602.18.w18, B614.11.w11, J213.4.w4)
    • Black flies can also act as an important vector of diseases of rabbits, including Myxomatosis (particularly in Australia) and other viral diseases. (B614.11.w11, J213.4.w4)
  • Tabanids
Further Information
Prevention
In Elephants:
In Bears:
  • Ensure good sanitation, including daily removal of faeces. (B16.9.w9)
  • Provide bathing pools so bears can maintain a clean coat and skin. (B16.9.w9)
  • If necessary, spray the bear's cage daily with pyrethrin spray. (B16.9.w9)
  • At Auckland Zoological Park, New Zealand, dermatitis resulting from bites from Stomoxys calcitrans responded well to treatment with triamcinolone (Vetalog, Squibb Ltd.; locally applied corticosteroid). (J35.128.w1)
Associated Techniques

Mosquito control:
Host taxa groups /species Further information on Host species has only been incorporated for species groups for which a full Wildpro "Health and Management" module has been completed (i.e. for which a comprehensive literature review has been undertaken).

(List does not contain all other species groups affected by this disease)

Disease Author Debra Bourne MA Vet MB PhD MRCVS (V.w5); Nikki Fox BVSc MRCVS (V.w103)
Referees Anna Meredith MA VetMB CertLAS DZooMed (Mammalian) MRCVS (V.w128); Richard Saunders BVSc BSc CertZooMed MRCVS (V.w121); Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior MA,PhD,DSc (H c: Mult) , AM(H c),DVM&S (H.c),DVMS(H.c) ,DVM(H,c) F.Med Sci.,Hon FRCVS F.Inst Biol. F.R.C.Path (H.c), DVSM, MRCVS (V.w135)

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