Basilia fletcheri


Basilia fletcheri is parasitic bat fly in the family Hippoboscidae or alternatively, family Nycteribiidae. It is found in India.

Taxonomic history

Hugh Scott described this species in 1914. He named it after its collector, Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher. Two specimens, a male and a female, were discovered on a Dormer's bat in Tamil Nadu, India. Scott placed this species in the genus Penicillidia. In 1956, Oskar Theodor classified it as belonging to the Basilia genus, which is in the same subfamily as Penicillidia.

Range

It was discovered in Chennai. Scott later reported that Joseph Charles Bequaert sent him a specimen from Bengaluru, which Scott identified as this species, but Theodor later wrote this specimen was in fact B. punctuata; other places specimens have been collected include Navapur and Mumbai.

Hosts

Hosts which specimens have been collected from include Dormer's bats and lesser bamboo bats.

Description

It is about 2.5 mm long and has a yellowish color.