Braula Explained

Braula is a genus of flies (Diptera) in the family Braulidae. These are very unusual flies, wingless and flattened, and barely recognizable as Diptera. Braula coeca Nitzsch is a pest of honey bees. The larvae tunnel through the wax honeycomb and the adults are found on the bodies of honey bees. There is some debate whether the bee louse causes damage to the honey bee. These flies sometimes can be found at places where bees congregate such as flowers or salt licks, waiting to grab onto hosts from uninfested nests.^[1] Braula is cosmopolitan and about 1.6 mm in length.

Species

• Braula coeca Nitzsch, 1818
• Braula kohli Schmitz, 1914^[2]
• Braula orientalis Òròsi Pál, 1963
• Braula pretoriensis Òròsi Pál, 1939^[3]
• Braula schmitzi Òròsi Pál, 1939^{[4] [5]}

External links

• Braula coeca, bee louse on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website
• Photograph of a bee louse

Notes and References

1. Book: Papp, L . Soós, Árpád . Papp, Lazlo . Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera . Print . 10 . 1984 . Elsevier . Amsterdam . 0-444-99601-X . 178–180 .
2. Schmitz . H. . Eine auf der afrikanischer Honigbiene schmarotzende neue Braula-Art. . Archives de zoologie expérimentale et générale. . 1914 . 54 . 121–123 . 17 June 2018.
3. Örösi Pál . Z. . Braula pretoriensis . Meheszet, Budapest . 1938 . 35 . 183–186.
4. Book: Örösi Pál . Z. . Mehellensegek es a kopu allatvilaga . 1939 . OrszMagyar Meheszeti Egyesulet . Budapest . 163.
5. Dobson. J.R. . 1999 . Bee-louse Braula schmitzi Örösi-Pál (Diptera: Braulidae) new to the British Isles, and the status of Braula spp. in England and Wales . British Journal of Entomology and Natural History. 11 . 139–148. British Entomological and Natural History Society.