Summary ²

Braulidae, or bee louse, is a family of fly (Diptera) with seven species in two genera, Braula and Megabraula. Found in honey bee colonies, these most unusual wingless and small flies, are not a true bee parasite, and are barely recognizable as Diptera, as they have the superficial appearance of mites or lice.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Thies H. Büscher,Dennis S. Petersen,Nienke N. Bijma,Fabian Bäumler,Christian W. W. Pirk,Sebastian Büsse,Lars Heepe,Stanislav N. Gorb, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_bee_louse_Braula_coeca_attached_to_the_head_region_of_its_host,_the_honeybee_Apis_mellifera_scutellata.jpg
2. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braulidae

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Field/Photo ID for Flies
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Systema Dipterorum

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