Identity please

[treebug]

Found an insect on my leg the other day which at first I thought was a spider (yes I know thats not an insect). It was very squat and round with its legs angled like a spiders, then I noticed tiny wing remnants, it was a grey colour. The most peculiar thing was its legs that ended in heart shaped pads? It was about 1cm? Any ideas?

[Gerel]

Hi and welcome.

Complete guesswork, but you could try looking up Hippoboscid flies.

[Jason Claxton]

Originally Posted by Gerel

Hi and welcome.

Complete guesswork, but you could try looking up Hippoboscid flies.

Yes I'd look at the Louse- flies first too,treebug.I've seen Hippobosca equina European Forest Fly active now.

Cheers Jason

[bigdave60dog]

Originally Posted by treebug

Found an insect on my leg the other day which at first I thought was a spider (yes I know thats not an insect). It was very squat and round with its legs angled like a spiders, then I noticed tiny wing remnants, it was a grey colour. The most peculiar thing was its legs that ended in heart shaped pads? It was about 1cm? Any ideas?

Sound verey much like a louse fly to me. They hang around over winter in the nests of birds that return to the same nest every year - in my experience house martins are requently parasitised- they reactivate when they sense movement in the nest then hang on to the bird feeding as louse.
Creepy little B---ers if you ask me.
Dave

[treebug]

Thanks to all who ofered the identity as Hippoboscid, have checked this out and this is not the fly I saw! It was very 'flat' in posture and moved more like a spider, its wings were too small to be capable of flight!

[bigdave60dog]

Yeah. We used to house martins nesting over our bathroom window, Louse flies came into the bathroom regularly.
From memory your description fits the little nasty little b---ers perfectly.
Whatever your Id books say that is what they look like.
There is nothing else fits that well anyway.
Dave

[Gerel]

Originally Posted by treebug

Thanks to all who ofered the identity as Hippoboscid, have checked this out and this is not the fly I saw! It was very 'flat' in posture and moved more like a spider, its wings were too small to be capable of flight!

Hi treebug,

While some of the Hippoboscids are fully winged and capable of flight, others, such as this one


(photo by David Norman )

Crataerina pallida which is a parasite on swifts fit your description well.

[treebug]

Thanks for that guys, esp pic David, and when I later thought about it this bug appeared shortly after my cat had brought a bird into the house!