We'll give you a spoiler right at the beginning: From a biological point of view, this flying insect is not a tick, but it behaves similar to one!
This is about the deer louse fly , which always makes it into the media ( we reported ):
The fact check
The deer louse fly belongs – as the actual name suggests – to the louse fly . Its scientific name is Lipoptena Cerv i.
It owes its nickname – “flying tick” – to its behavior. They mainly wreak havoc in the forest and attack game there. But horses, dogs and people are not spared either.
[mk_ad]
After she has chosen her victim, she buzzes around them and then settles on the host. In dogs, for example, this is often the case on the stomach, and in humans it is the neck. And now comes the part that is similar to tick behavior: They crawl very quickly to a suitable spot on the skin and attach themselves there. Some species also shed their wings afterwards - so they don't necessarily plan to disappear again.
Particularly unpleasant: deer louse flies can spread Bartonella schoenbuchensis
Bartonella schoenbuchensis – is it dangerous?
To date, there have been very few studies into how the bacterium affects humans. You don't notice the bite itself, but the bite areas swell after a short time and resemble a bruise. There is also severe itching and pustular formation. The bacterium is suspected of causing heart inflammation in people, but so far this is pure speculation ! It is not even certain whether the bacterium is even transmitted to humans; investigations into this have only been ongoing since 2017.
Conclusion
The deer louse fly is actually spreading in Germany's forest areas. Even though it has the nickname “flying tick”, it is not a tick!
It can - but does not have to - transmit the bacterium Bartonella schoenbuchensis. This bacterium has only been researched for a few years.
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )