''Haematobia exigua'', its common name being buffalo fly, is a fly of the family

Muscidae Muscidae are a family of flies found in the superfamily Muscoidea. Muscidae, some of which are commonly known as house flies or stable flies due to their synanthropy, are worldwide in distribution and contain almost 4,000 described species i ...

. The species is vastly present in Australia, inhabiting

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is widely considered a pest, and continues to cause much damage to

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

; as they are of the genus

Haematobia ''Haematobia'' is a genus of biting true flies of the family Muscidae. Species *'' H. exigua'' Meijere, 1906 *'' H. irritans'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *'' H. minuta'' ( Bezzi, 1892) *'' H. potans'' ( Bezzi, 1907) *'' H. schillingsi'' ( Grünberg, 190 ...

, buffalo flies must feed off the blood of mammals to survive, cutting through the skin with two separate mouthparts. In 1928-1930, Australian

entomologists Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Ian Murray Mackerras Ian Murray Mackerras (19 September 1898 – 21 March 1980) was an Australian zoologist. Mackerras was born in Balclutha, New Zealand to James Murray Mackerras, and Elizabeth Mary (née Creagh), both farmers. His parents separated and Ian and brot ...

and

Mabel Josephine Mackerras Mabel Josephine (Jo) Mackerras (née Bancroft) (7 August 1896 – 8 October 1971) was an Australian zoologist, entomologist and parasitologist. Her research and life's work contributed to entomology, veterinary medicine and medical science. T ...

did substantial research into buffalo fly, increasing knowledge into methods of their control. Josephine Mackerras' research on blowfly infestation led to many papers being published, both alone and in collaboration with her husband and scientific partner Murray Mackerras.

References

buffalo fly
CSIRO Muscidae Insects of Australia Insects described in 1906 Taxa named by Johannes C. H. de Meijere Diptera of Australasia {{Muscidae-stub