DIP TER A. 489 
where they remain, and having no further use for their 
wings, they lose them. 
Family Nycteribiid.e (Nyc-ter-i-bi'i-dae). 
The Bat-ticks. 
The bat-ticks are wingless parasites of bats. The body 
is depressed; the head is small and folded back into a groove 
on the dorsum of the thorax. The compound eyes are 
wanting; the ocelli are present or wanting. The legs are 
long, and the tarsal claws of ordinary form. Although 
wingless the halteres are present. 
The mode of reproduction is similar to that of the 
Hippoboscidae. 
Family BRAULIDyE (Brau'li-dae). 
The Bee-louse . 
This is a minute insect, one-sixteenth of an inch in 
length, which is parasitic upon the Honey¬ 
bee (Fig. 597). It is found clinging to the 
thorax of queens and drones. It is wing¬ 
less, and also lacks halteres. The head is 
large, but lacks both compound eyes and 
ocelli. The legs are comparatively short; 
the last segment of the tarsus is furnished with a pair of 
comb-like appendages. Only a single species is known ; 
this is Braula cceca (Brau'la cae'ca). Its mode of reproduc¬ 
tion is similar to that of the Hippoboscidae. 
