Contributions to our knowledge on avian louse flies (Hippoboscidae: Ornithomyinae) with the first European record of the African species Ornithoctona laticornis.

Background: Louse flies (Diptera, Hippoboscidae) are important blood-sucking parasites of birds and mammals with a worldwide distribution. The aim of our study was to collect louse flies from birds across multiple sites in Hungary and evaluate the effects of avian traits on louse fly-host relationships.

Methods: Between 2015 and 2022, 237 louse flies were collected from birds at multiple locations in Hungary.

Ornithological and molecular evidence of a reproducing population under continental climate in Europe.

Reports on adult ticks in certain regions of the Carpathian Basin date back to the 19th century. These ticks were thought to emerge from nymphs dropping from birds, then molting to adults. Although the role of migratory birds in carrying ticks of this genus is known from all parts of Europe, in most countries no contemporaneous multiregional surveillance of bird-associated ticks was reported which could allow the recognition of hotspots in this context.